


Wrongful arrest

by m_findlow



Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-23 03:28:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 24,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16611032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m_findlow/pseuds/m_findlow
Summary: UNIT are on the warpath, and they've got Jack in their sights.





	1. Chapter 1

Jack was making slow work of returning to the hub. The afternoon was bright and clear, if a little cool, but the crisp air felt nice against his face, and he'd opted to walk. His morning's work had turned up little in the way of new information from some old contacts who kept their ears to the ground, but it had been a long shot.

His coattails fluttered gently as he meandered down the quiet street. In his hand was a bag of still warm crossaints, which he intended to bring back for a late lunch. Breakfast that morning had been a bit of a rush. Well, the food component in any case, Jack though pleasantly, remembering some of the finer details. His mind was still drifting with thoughts of hot coffee and handsome Welshmen when the armoured truck rolled up nearby. 

He watched it with curiosity as several UNIT soldiers piled from the back of the truck, followed by their senior officer who exited from the passenger seat of the vehicle. All of them were heavily armed.

Jack made to approach. 'You know you guys are supposed to call first before turning up on my patch,' he said, smiling congenially.

Before he knew what was happening, the soldiers had surrounded him and had him face down on the pavement, hands restrained behind him.

'Hey! What the hell is going on?'

The officer stood right next to his head, looking down at Jack. He could smell the man's boot polish as he struggled to look up at the man.

'Captain Jack Harkness, you are hereby arrested on charges of high treason.'

'What? I have no idea what you're you're talking about,' Jack replied, struggling slightly.

'That's a shame, but irrelevant all the same,' the officer replied.

Jack chuckled nervously. 'Come on guys, joke's over. Let me go.'

The boot that he found pressed into the small of his back suggested otherwise.

'Put him out and have him restrained,' came the order.

Jack turned his head just enough to see one of the soldiers coming at him with a syringe.

'No, no, no, there's some kind of mistake. Don't!' He began struggling in earnest this time, but the soldiers had him held down firmly, with another hand pressing his head to the ground, keeping it still. The concrete was cold against his cheek as he felt the sharp needle prick the side of his neck.

He was still mumbling a series of incoherent "no's" as everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack disappearing for several hours on tasks unknown was nothing unusual. What annoyed Ianto was when Jack went off the reservation without answering his comms or his phone. Even more annoying was how Jack knew him well enough to know how long he could be out of contact and still get away with it.

Under two hours and Ianto wouldn't even blink an eye. Between two and four hours, Ianto would be reasonably annoyed if Jack returned without some semblance of an explanation. After five hours, Ianto migrated from mad and annoyed to worried. Jack knew that also, which is why so very often he waltzed in after Ianto had moved into fretful territory. It was slightly callous and manipulative on his part, but history had shown that Ianto's relief at his return would outweigh any ire, and usually lead to fewer questions and better reunion sex.

Jack had been gone since mid morning, touching base with a few of their registered alien residents to garner information on a smuggling ring operating in and around Cardiff. It shouldn't have taken more than an hour or two, and he'd been busying himself in the archives for hours and hadn't noticed the time flying by. It had been just the two of them this week while Gwen was away enjoying a proper honeymoon in Spain for three weeks. It was all they could do to get her out of the hub with only the barest promise to call if things got really bad.

But Ianto's watch was edging towards six o'clock now and he hadn't heard a word from Jack all day.

He tried calling but Jack's phone went to voice-mail. He checked the computer logs but Jack hadn't checked back in at any time while he'd been downstairs. Things didn't start to get worrying until he'd tried to ping Jack's phone for a location only to discover that the phone was off the grid, which meant he must have removed the Sim card. What would Jack have been doing that would necessitate removing the card?

Before he could ponder his next move, his phone began to ring. Finally, he thought, not bothering to check the caller ID.

'Where the hell have you been?' Ianto declared.

'Ianto?'

'Martha?' Ianto furrowed his brow in confusion, quickly pulling the phone from his ear to confirm the number on screen. 'Sorry,' he apologised, 'I was expecting it to be Jack.'

'Ianto, Jack's been arrested by UNIT.'

'What? I mean, how?' No, that wasn't the right question either, his brain protested, trying to keep pace with his mouth. 'Why?' Yes, why was the question that needed an answer.

'They're claiming he committed treason. He was caught on CCTV last night breaking into a secure UNIT facility and stealing some equipment. They also claim he killed three guards. They came to Cardiff this morning and picked him up.'

'Wait, what? That's impossible.' It didn't matter that it was impossible, as his fingers flashed across his keyboard, seeking the cell tower that registered Jack's last known phone location and then hacking the CCTV nearby, watching in horror as Jack was tackled to the ground, drugged, and hauled away in their van.

'I only just found out myself. I've been trying to get as much information as I can, but so far it's all very hush hush. They look like they're going to try and keep him here without trial.' Martha paused for a moment, her tone becoming serious. 'I need you to level with me Ianto. Is there anything going on that I need to know about?'

'What, no! There's nothing. Torchwood would never... I mean, Jack would never...' This was crazy, yet Ianto had to force himself to sound convinced of Jack's innocence. He wasn't above stealing, occasionally, but murder?

He watched the vision in front of him. The black uniforms and red berets left no question in his mind that they were UNIT and they meant business.

'You're sure?'

'Of course I'm sure! This is Jack we're talking about!' My Jack, he felt like adding.

'I know, I'm sorry. Look, I'm doing all I can but my credentials only get me so far.'

'I'm guessing given that it's the leader of Torchwood they've got in custody, they're not going to be particularly happy taking my call?'

'What about the Home Office?' Martha suggested. 'Could they help you get a foot in the door? Put in a good word?'

Ianto cringed at that thought. Frobisher didn't like Jack at the best of times. He wasn't about to stick his neck out for him now. Not on a murder charge. And most definitely not for alleged treason. 

'I'll try,' was the response he gave Martha.

'Okay,' Martha breathed out, 'keep me posted with anything you find out. We need to be able to prove without a doubt that whoever it was that broke in, it wasn't Jack.'

'Right, or he's going to spend a very long time locked up,' Ianto repeated, more to consolidate the idea in his own head than anything else. 'Can you send me a copy of the CCTV? Maybe there's something on there they missed.' Like the fact that it wasn't Jack, he wanted to say.

'Will do.'

'Thanks Martha. For everything.'

'Ianto?' Martha began, 'if they keep him here, being locked up will be the least of his problems.'

Meaning they would experiment on him, Ianto thought. He closed his eyes, trying not to think about it. 'I know. Just do what you can, please.'

'I will, I promise. Speak soon.'


	3. Chapter 3

Jack awoke in much the same position as he'd remembered being in before. The ground beneath him still felt cold and concrete, but darker. His restraints were gone, as was his coat, his webley, and his vortex manipulator. He still had his watch, belt and braces. At least they hadn't bothered to take everything, probably knowing full well that he couldn't use them to kill himself even if he tried. Well, not permanently anyway.

He got to his feet albeit a little shakily. Whatever they'd given him had been pretty potent stuff, and the last remnants were still working their way through his system. He had to have been out cold for at least three hours, having made the trip from Cardiff to where he was now, somewhere in England. He cracked his cramped neck from side to side and felt better for it, taking in his surroundings. Four walls, five foot by ten, stale air, no light, security camera in the far corner. It didn't take a genius to figure out he was in a UNIT detention facility, and not one of their nicer ones. No, this was where they kept the people they really didn't like. 

The more pressing question was why he was here in the first place. Treason? What was that all about? He needed some answers and he got the feeling that he wouldn't have to wait too long.


	4. Chapter 4

Ianto had been running on fumes for hours, reviewing, analysing, and re-reviewing the CCTV footage from UNIT. There was no mistaking that it was Jack, or at least his identical twin. He'd run the footage through every program they had and there was no denying that it was original and undoctored.

He refused to believe that this was Jack. It had to be a shape-shifter or something. The incident report that accompanied the footage stated that one of the guards had gotten off a good punch before being killed, and there was trace blood on his hand. Surely a DNA test of the blood would have shown it wasn't Jack, but it had come back positive. Not just a probable match, a complete DNA profile panel that matched as identical to his. UNIT weren't taking any chances in pinning this on him. Ianto didn't know of any kind of shape-shifter that could replicate DNA.

Ianto tried to think back to the night before. For all intents and purposes, he was the only alibi Jack had. They'd gone to bed at a reasonable hour and Ianto had slept through until morning.

He'd become accustomed to Jack's nightly wanderings, which though less frequent, still happened every now and again. He'd simply learned to ignore them.

Ianto began drawing up his own timeline. If he'd been asleep before midnight and woken at seven, and Jack had been in bed when he'd woken, that gave him a window of seven hours. It was theoretically possible for Jack to have driven there and back in that time frame.

He immediately called up their own internal CCTV to check if Jack had indeed gone walkabout, only to discover that there was none. Bugger, he thought, we turned it off last night for naked hide and seek and didn't turn it back on! He thumped the desk in frustration. It was madness that he was even entertaining the thought of Jack's involvement.

He started checking external cameras around the Millennium Centre carpark. The SUV hadn't moved all night. He checked the surrounding streets, looking for any indication that Jack might have made a move some other way, but still nothing. He began running a facial recognition program across cameras city wide but it would take hours for a result, assuming the picture quality was good enough to make a match.

With his own eyes, tired as they were, he couldn’t find any evidence that Jack had left their bed last night. He leaned his arms on the desk as his eyes gazed blankly at the screen in front of him. He was barely aware that outside the sun was beginning to rise as his head drooped forward onto his arms and exhaustion claimed him.


	5. Chapter 5

The sound of his phone ringing woke Ianto from his slumber.

'Martha? Any news?' he replied sleepily.

'I've been thinking. What if he's Jack, just not Jack right now?'

Ianto blinked a few times and tried to ignore the pains shooting up and down his neck, trying to get his brain working again. 'You mean like he's an earlier version? Or a future version?'

'We know he used to be able to time travel before he met The Doctor. Could be he's here from before that timeline, or he's from the future.'

'He can't be from the future. Jack would never kill innocent people. Besides, he wouldn't risk coming here knowing that he could run into his past self. Last time that happened he made sure Torchwood froze him to prevent him meeting himself.'

'Okay,' Martha stopped to let the concept sink in. 'So, if we rule out a future version, we must be dealing with a past version. Presumably a version that hasn't met The Doctor yet.'

'Might explain the killing part,' Ianto mused.

'But even that doesn't make any sense. If Jack had done this in his past, he'd remember it right? Why wouldn't he stop it from happening?'

'Maybe he can't. If it doesn't happen in his past, his future self might be at risk.'

'Surely he would have warned us! If only I could get in there and ask him! UNIT are still blocking my attempts.'

Ianto's mind drifted while Martha continued to speak. 'Wait, if we really are dealing with Jack from the past, then how do we prove it? And what do we do about it?'

'We have to find him or course!' Martha declared.

'And in doing so we could alter Jack's future, permanently. Who knows what might happen? Plus, he can't meet us, either of us. We'd be altering Jack's timeline.'

Martha leaned back against her desk wearily. 'I hadn't thought of that. So what do we do?'

'I don't know, but first thing's first. You need to get in and speak to Jack, and find out if we really are dealing with another version of him in this timeline. I'll extend the search on local CCTV. I only had it searching the hours they claimed he wasn't at the hub. If there is another Jack in Cardiff right now, we'll find him.'

'How do you know he'll return to Cardiff?'

'The rift's here, so that's where Jack will head. I'm sure of it.'


	6. Chapter 6

Jack was left stewing in his cell for a lot longer than he'd expected. Whatever was happening, they clearly weren't in a hurry to ask him about it. That in itself was concerning. No questions meant they had enough evidence to back up their charge.

Eventually he heard a metallic voice issue from the corner of the cell. "The prisoner will stand and prepare for questioning." 

Finally, he thought, pulling himself up off the floor.

His visitor was not who he expected. Colonel Oduya, chief in command at UNIT. 

'You really are pulling out all the stops for me. What's the occasion?'

'I really don't see how you can sit there and make light of your actions, Captain.'

'Well maybe I'd take them more seriously if I knew what they actually were,' he replied, crossing his arms defensively.

The colonel opened the file in his arms and read aloud from its pages. 'One count of breaking and entering a secure UNIT facility, one count of theft, six counts of aggravated assault, three counts of murder, and one count of high treason against the Crown. Not that the charges are being made official just yet.'

Jack narrowed his eyes. 'You're going to have to be more specific.'

Odouya snapped the file shut. 'You have the audacity to tell me that you have no recollection of breaking in last night, stealing classified alien technology and killing three UNIT officers in the process?'

'You've been misinformed.'

'Perhaps I could show you the CCTV footage of your escapades? Would that change your mind?' he responded, flipping around a tablet contained inside his folder.

Jack's expression remained inscrutable as he witnessed his own face doing the impossible. No, not impossible, just highly improbable. There were a dozen other explanations for it. 'That's not me.'

'Are you sure?'

'Come on! Seriously? It's a shape-shifter or a clone or something.'

'DNA evidence left at the scene would suggest otherwise. And your whereabouts last night? Just for the record, of course.'

Now Jack was annoyed. 'Cardiff. Wales. Asleep in bed with my boyfriend.'

'Ah, yes, Mr Jones. We'll be wanting to question him as well. But not just now. We're still waiting for the official authority to shut down Torchwood before we take him into custody. I can assume he was either a willing accomplice, or your alibi. Either way, the truth will out. And as for Gwen Cooper, we understand that she is currently out of the country, so for the moment she is being cleared of any involvment. However should we find evidence to the contrary, she too will be arrested.'

'You've got the wrong guy. You're wasting your time asking me what happened.'

'I don't doubt it,' Oduya replied, turning and exiting the cell, leaving Jack alone once more.


	7. Chapter 7

Ianto's phone call to the Home Office had gone down about as well as he'd expected. Bridget Spears had railroaded him, insisting that Mr Frobisher wouldn't be taking any calls until he'd been fully briefed by UNIT personnel about the reported incident. If he could forward a copy of his own report, Mr Frobisher would attend to it in due course.

Of course he didn't have a report. He didn’t even know what the hell was going on, and Bridget knew it. She was the gatekeeper, and this was revenge for all the times Ianto had prevented Frobisher's annoyed calls from reaching Jack. Bridget didn't like Jack, that wasn't in dispute, but she had a modicum of respect for Ianto, if for no other reason than he had the good sense to use diplomacy. Today however, diplomacy was getting him nowhere, so he still had a full head of steam when the next call came through.

'Colonel Oduya here from UNIT.'

'Colonel,' Ianto greeted warily.

'I'm sure by now that you're aware that we have Jack Harkness in custody.'

'I am.'

'Good. Then you'll understand that I'll be despatching a team to the Torchwood facility within the next 24 hours to assume control of Torchwood and conduct a thorough search for the stolen item and anything else that might be deemed to be of evidentiary value.'

He'd been dreading this moment. There was always a chance they might try it on, but he hadn't expected them to be shipping out a team that quickly. He needed more time.

'Jack might be under arrest but the only one who can rescind his appointment as leader of Torchwood is her Majesty. Protocol also dictates that in the event that Jack is incapacitated, Gwen Cooper and I have authority to act as temporary leader of Torchwood, so for now you can consider me in charge. Until Jack's position is rescinded, UNIT cannot enter the Torchwood facility without express permission. And I can guarantee you, that's not going to happen.'

'Merely paperwork,' Odouya tutted, 'but his position is easily terminated.'

'You think so?' came Ianto's response. 'If you hold him without trial, without conviction, the Queen has no power to rescind. You haven't even reviewed all the evidence, let alone done any proper investigation. How can you so blindly believe Jack would do something like this after everything Torchwood has done? Give me time to prove it to you.'

'Mr Jones, we're both reasonable men. And we both know that Jack Harkness is volatile and egocentric. Her Majesty will not be under any illusion that he is more important than the safety of this planet. He is a liability and a danger. You've got 48 hours to make your case, for what little it's worth.'

'Then I think we're done here.' Ianto replied coldly.

'For now. But don't get too comfortable.'

Ianto let out a long breath when the call ended and noticed his hands shaking slightly. He'd sounded a lot more confident than he felt, and in their current predicament, his leadership was tenuous at best. If UNIT wanted to play hard ball, he could easily find himself stripped of position and locked out of the hub. If that happened, they'd never get Jack released. He thought about calling in Gwen, but suspected he'd need careful planning more than willful determination right now. Besides, he had Martha in his corner for the moment. That would have to be enough.


	8. Chapter 8

Martha Jones flashed her credentials at the two guards and fixed them with a stern look that dared them to challenge her. Instructions hadn't been passed down yet that Jack was completely off limits so she made the most of it. 

The guard pulled open the heavy door and allowed her to step inside. The second guard made to follow her in. She turned to him. 'I don't need a bodyguard,' she instructed, before he retreated and the door was shut once more with a clang, leaving her alone with the prisoner.

'Martha Jones! Voice of a nightingale. Come to bust me out?'

Martha spared him the briefest of hugs. 'Oh, Jack.'

'Well that doesn't sound good,' he said, trying to make light of the situation.

'They've got you charged with treason Jack!' she chastised.

Jack tried to spare her the frustrated look. 'Except it wasn't me!'

'I know that, and you know that, but you're going to have a hell of a time convincing UNIT. They've got video and they've got your DNA. As far as they're concerned, that's enough evidence to keep you locked up here permanently. I think we both know what that means.'

Jack sunk back down to the floor. 'I honestly don't know what's going on. Could it really have been me? Could I have been drugged?' He paused for a moment. 'Retcon, what about retcon?'

'I checked your blood work. No traces.'

'So something else, then?' He was clutching at straws and the desperation was starting to show in his voice. If he was going to get out of this, he needed to keep it together. 'What about Ianto? Does he know? Is he okay?'

'He's fine. We're working as many angles as we can.' She hesitated slightly before continuing. 'Listen, we think there's another version of you that did this. I need you to tell me Jack, have you been here in the past? Your past, I mean.'

'An earlier version of me in this timeline? No. It wouldn't make any sense. If I were here now, my future self, me now, would remember, and if my past self changed his future, well, I wouldn't be here talking with you right now.'

'Well, that kills that theory.' She still wasn't sure she fully understood what he'd just explained, but Jack having discounted the possibility was good enough for her.

Jack paused for a moment. 'Future self is another matter.'

'You really think a future version of you would come back here and kill people for the sake of stealing some piece of alien tech? I'm sorry Jack, but that's not you. Besides, a future version of you that would know you'd be locked up here now for God knows how long?'

Jack groaned. 'I always hated Time Agency Grandfather Theory. Things get way too complicated when you start crossing your own timeline. It's why we had such strict rules about it.'

Martha crouched in front of him and rested her chin on her hand. 'So if not a past version, or a future version, then what?'

Jack fixed his gaze with hers. 'Then we're in big trouble.'


	9. Chapter 9

Ianto rang in to check on Martha.

'How is he?'

'Okay for the moment.'

Ianto breathed a sigh of relief. 'Anything at you end?'

'I don't know. Maybe it's nothing.' She sounded hesitant. 'I performed the autopsies on the men that were killed. Straightforward cause of death from their gunshot wounds, caused by bullets with the same calibre as a firearm identical to Jack's.'

Ianto pinched the bridge of his nose. 'That doesn't sound like it helps us.'

'Not exactly. But one of the guys had several perimortem bruises from the altercation. There were traces from the bruised areas and parts of his clothing that had this weird particle residue. I've never seen it before and there's nothing in UNIT's databases that even recognises it.'

'Can you send me a sample?'

'Already on its way. Might be nothing but right now every little bit helps, yeah?'

'Yeah, thanks Martha. Keep in touch.'

 

 

The database search bleeped unexpectedly with a result. It had been a long shot, but it seemed finally they might have a lead.

Ianto consulted the screen. Torchwood One database archive. It wasn't a proper archive entry, it was barely even registered in their systems. Nothing more than a command and keystroke log. One single command entered, that tapped into whatever these particles were, and instructed the system to lock onto them.

He checked the other records to run a search around it for a date and time and anything associated. Anything that might indicate what the key log entry was all about.

Then the date stamp for the entry came up and Ianto knew. Doomsday. The battle of Canary Wharf.

The logon records might have indicated another user, but it was clear that the command had been entered by The Doctor. The particles had to have been from the void. The gap between universes.

Torchwood Three had done a little digging after the event and pieced together a few sparse details of what had happened, since there was no one alive left to tell it, apart from a few lucky survivors who had escaped or hidden, but no one who'd been with The Doctor at the time, that could speak as to how he'd saved the whole planet from being overrun with daleks and cybermen. Even Jack had been convinced that Rose Tyler had died in the battle, before he caught up with The Doctor years later and found out the truth.

Void particles, Ianto thought. Could something have come through from another universe? Another Jack? Suddenly it all made sense. That was why the DNA matched perfectly. That was why UNIT were convinced it was Jack. Because it was Jack.

It was proof. Just not the kind that UNIT would likely believe, especially since it was predicated on the assumptions of the Torchwood Three team at the time Torchwood One fell. That made it subjective and potentially biased.

What he still really needed was to find this other Jack. The one he now knew with certainty existed.

Serendipitously another program began bleeping at him. His original CCTV scan. Cardiff Central train station to be precise. A few short frames caught by one of the platform cameras from the early hours of yesterday morning, but there was no mistaking it was Jack. He quickly set up a program to log the GPS location of each CCTV frame when it found a match for Jack, now able to narrow the time and location search parameters, speeding up the search results markedly, and had the details sent to his PDA before grabbing the keys for the SUV. There wasn't time to call Martha. He needed to get to Jack right now.

 

 

Ianto was at a complete loss as to where Jack was actually headed. His CCTV search results had tracked him since his arrival in the city, and followed him from Mermaid Quay, all the way up Lloyd George Avenue and onto St Mary's Street, past the castle and along North Road. There were half a dozen government buildings there. Could he be targeting one of them? UNIT wouldn't even tell him what it was that had been stolen, so God only knew what could happen. He decided he could risk it and made to intercept him. He slowed the car to a stop about a block away and waited for Jack to pass him on the opposite side of the street.

Resolved, he got out of the car. 'Jack! Where have you been?' Ianto called out, as if having a perfectly normal conversation.

Jack turned his head. Well, at least that confirmed he was still going by that particular name, Ianto thought.

Jack did a slight double take, obviously not expecting someone to recognise him, and the tiniest hint of concern washed over his face that there was another version of him already floating about in this timeline. That could complicate matters.

For a moment it looked like he was going to approach and play along with the charade, but he must have seen something in Ianto's gaze from the other side of the sodium lit street that gave him away. He quickly turned on his heel and ran.

'Shit,' Ianto cursed, bolting after him.


	10. Chapter 10

Ianto sometimes wished that he could go back to bed and start the day over again in the hopes that it would improve. Bad days were becoming the norm.

He mentally cursed again as he kept running hard, glad that he had recently started running in the mornings before work again. Not that he didn't get plenty of exercise working for Torchwood, but training on a regular basis made for a nice change. In fact anything at all of a regular nature made for a nice change. 

His legs and lungs were beginning to burn from the effort, but he knew that he could push past it and that he would be able to keep going for a while yet. It only annoyed him that his quarry was the very person who refused to come running with him in the first place.

Jack had scoffed at the idea, and made his own suggestion that they could both get plenty of exercise in other ways that didn't require leaving the hub, or the bed for that matter.

Right now though, Jack was on the run. Not his Jack, but some other version of Jack.

Ianto growled in frustration as he kept on Jack's trail, feet pounding the concrete and breathing hard. He'd been in pursuit for a good ten minutes at least, and Jack still had a good thirty yards lead on him.

Irritated, Ianto had yet to fathom how Jack had stayed so fit. Even disregarding that he was over 170 years old, in reality he physically still had ten years on Ianto. It was hardly fair. Youth should have overriden him by now, but Ianto was beginning to realise that he wasn't going to be able to outrun him without employing more cunning.

Where was backup when you needed it? he thought. Gwen was never getting another holiday again. Ever. If anyone was having three weeks off in sunny Spain next time, it would be him and Jack. They'd leave the weevils and blowfish for Gwen and Rhys to sort out. The world could end, but at least they'd enjoy their last moments of it, and of each other, together, sharing tapas and mojitos on the beach. And a warm climate where Jack might be inclined to go about topless would just be an added bonus. Right now though, thoughts of sunny anywhere were far from his mind.

Ianto took a calculated risk, letting Jack skip around the next street corner and losing sight of him as he banked right.

Ianto cut down another streeta, and then veered left, and left again. Jack didn't seem to have a particular destination in mind, but rather was just trying to put distance between himself and his pursuer. Ianto gambled on knowing the streets better than Jack.

As he staggered out the end of the street, he caught the flash of coattails as it swept by him, now only twenty yards separating them, as he forced Jack down another street.

As long as Jack kept running, there was still a chance. If he suddenly stopped and tried to fight his way out, things would end badly. For Ianto that was. In a hand to hand combat scenario, Jack had a size advantage over the Welshman, regardless of the amount of training, and it wasn't beneath him to try and surprise Ianto with some less than legal moves in order to make his getaway.

Ianto attempted another shortcut, dropping back slightly as Jack was headed in the general direction of Bute Park. He swung wide and came at the park from a different angle, immediately plunged into darkness under the thick canopy of foliage.

He lost sight of Jack for a few moments but then heard the footsteps and ragged breathing not far off. Despite the dark, Ianto could make out his broad outline moving between the shadows. Ianto had calmed his own breathing, careful not to give his position away. Their mad pursuit had become a game of cat and mouse. 

He watched as Jack twirled around, trying to see if he'd lost his tail. Ianto kept a firm eye on him, knowing he only had minutes to pull this off and was still too far away. He needed to get closer without being seen or heard.

A crunch of leaves underfoot caused Jack to swing his gaze in Ianto's direction, gun following his line of sight. Ianto pressed himself up against a tree and held his breath. After a few moments nothing had happened, and Ianto risked a look around the tree. Jack had moved slightly further away, still wary that his pursuer might be close by. If he didn't do something now, Jack would sneak further away and he'd lose him altogether. He might not get another shot at it.

He crouched down and gathered a handful of acorns littering the ground beneath his feet. Taking another quick look at Jack's position, he thrust the nuts off in a generally opposite direction to where he was stood. They had the desired effect, causing a rustling noise that Jack turned away from instinctively, forcing him back in Ianto's direction as he tried to put more distance between himself and his pursuer. 

Ianto pulled his gun from his jacket and watched Jack through its sights, waiting for him to get closer.

Almost... almost, he thought, trying to clear his head for what he was about to do. He was going to feel awful about this in the morning. It really was turning out to be a bad day.

When Jack was barely five yards from his position he took careful aim. He felt the split second between five yards distant and right on top of him stretch out for eternity.

Sorry Jack, he thought as he swung out from behind the tree and pulled the trigger, shooting Jack through the heart.


	11. Chapter 11

It was only a stun gun, but the high setting packed a lot of punch, and would leave its victim unconscious for several hours. This version of Jack could well be immortal too, but he wasn't taking any chances. 

An hour and a half later, he managed to tie and sedate Jack, retrieve the SUV from its spot, now a dozen blocks away, and drag Jack's heavy body into it without attracting the attentions of any local curtain twitchers. All things considered, not an easy task.

Part of him wanted to drive them both straight to UNIT HQ, but he knew that this had now become a game of chess, and in order to win he'd have to to play the long game. UNIT weren't about to believe he'd just conveniently trundled up to their door with a clone and to expect a prisoner exchange. Plus, he wanted to know for himself just exactly what this Jack was up to. 

When he arrived back at the hub he decided not to waste any time, immediately putting the unconscious Jack down in their interrogation room, heavily cuffed in the chair, both wrists and ankles. If his own Jack was anything to go by, even that wouldn't necessarily hold him. The stun gun stayed close at hand in his pocket.


	12. Chapter 12

Jack had consulted his watch again, and convinced himself that it had stopped working. At least, that's how it felt. Time seemed to stretch on endlessly. He knew he should be grateful for the peace, but sitting around doing nothing just wasn't in his nature.

He thought about the time he'd come down here and recruited Tosh. It was a small miracle she still had any of her mental faculties after months locked up here. Jack was already crawling up the walls after a single day, or was it two days now? Perhaps his watch really had stopped working.

At some point a metal tray had been shoved under the door via a narrow slot. It didn't feature anything Jack could recognise as food. It was slightly grey and had an indescribable texture. The green pile was not much better, smelled of old sneakers and so could possibly have been brussel sprouts in a former life. The cup of lukewarm amber liquid could have been tea or coffee, but tasted of neither. He decided to eat as little as possible and tried not to think about hot toast with lashings of butter and a cup of Ianto's spectacular coffee. Starving to death was a better alternative.

Despite the few mouthfuls he took, he began feeling lightheaded. The feeling was distinct and recognisable. The food had been drugged.

Two soldiers entered the cell, followed by a man in a white coat and another in white scrubs. They pushed him to the ground with surprising ease as his muscles refused to cooperate.

'You didn't eat all your dinner. Tsk, tsk,' said the man in the coat. 'No matter. It's enough for what we need, and as you can't die, there's really no risk.'

Jack was struggling but it was all in his head, commanding arms and legs that wouldn't comply with his wishes. Where was Martha Jones? He lay there helplessly as he felt them undoing his belt and unbuttoning his shirt to access the flesh underneath.

'Just a few samples to begin with,' the doctor explained, producing a long thick needle. 'Bone marrow first,' jabbing the needle into his hip. 

Jack grunted but couldn't wrap his mouth around the sounds to produce words.

'Yes, stings a little bit, doesn't it?' he commented, as he passed the needle to the orderly and produced a second.

'Liver next,' he continued. The next needle, larger again, was plunged into his torso. The two guards stood by the door both winced slightly, sickened by the doctor's actions, and couldn't ignore the scream that issued from Jack. He didn't need words this time.

'Just one more for now. You've been such a good patient,' as he produced the final needle. 'Probably should warn you, this one might hurt.'

Jack had been reduced to small whimpering noises just before the third needle was plunged directly into his heart. He didn't get a chance to yell out before the shock of it hit him and the world turned black.


	13. Chapter 13

Ianto placed the hot mug of coffee down on the desk next to his files. He'd had to stop himself from brewing a second mug, remembering that it was just him for the moment. It was a hard habit to break, especially when it felt like Jack was in the hub. He desperately needed the caffeine hit, plus it made him look more composed than he felt, sitting across from this Jack who wasn't Jack.

The cold hard stare unnerved him slightly. He hadn’t seen Jack use that kind of look on him for a very long time. Even when he’d been mad about Ianto hiding Lisa, there was an angry fire tucked away behind that look that proved he still felt something. This was just pure, cold hatred. 

He had to keep reminding himself that this was not his Jack, which was an almost impossible task given that they were physically identical in every other aspect. At the same time though, he could have quickly pointed out a hundred subtle differences that separated them. The way he held his head, his stance, the body language that suggested he didn't trust anyone, the tiny creases around the eyes that had formed from years of frowning. It was Jack, but not Jack. This Jack had never met the Doctor, had never left the Time Agency, had never joined Torchwood. He was a ruthless vigilante, that much was clear. Had his Jack really ever been like this? Surely not. This version had seen and done things that his Jack had never done. Terrible things that corrupted the soul. Ianto could almost feel the blackness radiating off him in waves.

Focus, Jones, he told himself, sitting down at the table across from Jack and staring back, hoping to see something more in his eyes than darkness.

'You think you’re going to interrogate me, pretty boy? I’ve seen Agency cadets with more balls.'

Ianto forced himself not to roll his eyes. Different Jack, same histrionics. If he was going to play hardball, Ianto couldn’t afford to give away anything that Jack could use as leverage. This Jack didn’t know their relationship existed, and right now, that’s how it had to stay. If there was any chance of getting his Jack released from UNIT custody, the evidence he collected here had to be watertight.

Ianto began reciting in a disinterested manner. 'Ianto Jones, Torchwood officer 4357, conducting this inteview. Under Her Majesty’s Home Office International Extra-terrestrial Agreement, you are an unregistered alien of planet Earth. Your rights under the Shadow Proclamation are temporarily suspended, and you are to be held in the custody of the Torchwood facility until such time as your status has been determined, and any criminal charges against you are ruled upon. Do you understand these conditions?'

A small huff and crossed arms was the extent of any response. Jack had clearly been in far worse scrapes than this, and was bored with the procedure.

'For the record let it be noted that the detainee has indicated that he understands and accepts these conditions.'

'Yesterday morning at 2.32am you broke into a UNIT facility, you stole classified technology and killed three UNIT officers.' It wasn’t a question, merely a summary of the facts that would comprise the basis for the following questioning.

Jack continued to stare at him, head cocked to the side, and said nothing.

'CCTV places you there, as do our rift monitor logs,' Ianto responded, twirling around his laptop to show Jack the screen.

Still no response.

'See,' Ianto began, 'my problem is that even though you managed to get away, another you also managed to be apprehended. Except that the person they apprehended is not you, but rather this timeline’s current version of you, and who also, ironically, is the head of the Torchwood facility in which you are now detained.'

This seemed to garner a small amount of interest. As expected, Jack's ego could always be stroked, and discovering an alternate version of himself was guaranteed to register some interest.

'Captain Jack Harkness was arrested by UNIT at 1.45pm yesterday and is currently charged with the aforementioned crimes. In accordance with UNIT regulations and the British Homeland Security Act, he will be imprisoned in solitary confinement without trial for the term of his natural life, which for him will be a very long time considering he's immortal.' 

That got an eyebrow raise before Jack schooled his features. 'That's a shame,' Jack replied, 'he's such a handsome looking guy. But I don't know what you want me to do about it.'

'I'd like you to confess to the crimes you committed.'

Jack leaned forward, placing his handcuffed arms on the desk. 'No, you'd like me to take his place. Sorry, but I don't do charity, and I certainly won't be copping to a life prison sentence.'

Ianto produced an evidence bag from under the table. In it was contained a large round object, metallic and yellow, with a chain attached. Jack had been wearing it when Ianto had apprehended him. 'Can you tell me what this is?'

Jack sat there mutely. 

'I've run some tests on it, and it has some unique radiation readings. I think you used this device to travel from one alternate universe to this one. Am I correct?'

'I'm not telling you anything. So, what are you going to do about it?'

'We still have the video and rift data. And we've got you.'

'You really think they'll believe that? That he just happens to have an identical twin? That you think you have some wacky device capable of skipping between universes?'

'Stranger things have happened.' Ianto decided to move on for the moment. He'd come back to it later. 'For the record, you were apprehended by Torchwood at 8.46pm in Bute Park. We've been following your movements since you arrived in Cardiff at Queen Street Station ten hours prior. Where were you going anyway?'

'Trying to find Torchwood. My vortex manipulator was giving off crazy rift readings around the castle. Figured the base of operations must be somewhere around there.'

'Yeah, we get that a lot,' Ianto observed disinterestedly. 'The castle seems to be an intergalactic tourist destination. And the pride of the Welsh Tourist Board. And your reason for seeking out Torchwood?'

Jack must have realised he'd said too much because he clamped his mouth shut and gave Ianto another stern look.

'Let it be noted that the subject declined to answer the question. For now,' he added. He returned Jack's baleful stare. 'You will tell me what your plan is, or I'll find out in other ways.'

'Fine,' Jack said, leaning back again and thrusting his chained and handcuffed feet up on the desk in front of him. 'Do what you have to. I'll just wait here, shall I?'

Ianto's expression was inscrutable as he folded down the laptop screen. He knew Jack was right. For the moment he didn't have enough proof. UNIT knew they had all sorts of technology, and without more concrete proof of his Jack's innocence, he was in trouble. It also didn't help that UNIT weren't taking his calls. As far as they were concerned, whilst the leader of Torchwood was in custody, and charged with high treason, the whole Torchwood Institute was suspended from normal relations with UNIT. His 48 hour window didn't formally exist. Oduya was just humouring him.

It had been all Ianto could do to stop them from taking over the base. There were plenty of officers at UNIT that would be keen to get their hands on certain items in the vaults. UNIT were supposedly conducting their own investigations into this matter and until they were satisfied or otherwise, Jack was going nowhere. And if he didn't come up with something better in the next 36 hours, that was where Jack was staying.


	14. Chapter 14

Martha was apoplectic when she found out what they'd done to Jack. She'd marched directly down to Colonel Oduya's Office and demanded to see him.

Oduya was sat comfortably behind the mahogany desk, wearing a placid expression. Even without his uniform, you could tell that his posture and mannerisms left little doubt that he was a man whose orders were to be followed without question. 

'I cannot believe you allowed this to happen! He is in our custody. That means we're supposed to protect him, not treat him like some lab rat!'

Oduya considered her for a moment, gently placing his fountain pen down on the leather blotter. He was in fact, just penning some further orders for matters to be considered by his scientific technicians, who were currently reviewing Jack's vortex manipulator. What a colossal boon it would be to be the leader of UNIT, and to have cracked the discovery of time travel. His place in British history firmly sealed.

'He committed crimes on sovereign soil. His rights are non-existent. That makes him our property.'

'He still has the right to be treated like a human being.'

'Doctor Jones, your involvement in this matter is as a courtesy only. Should you impede any actions undertaken by UNIT personnel in connection with Captain Harkness, you will find yourself transferred to a remote overseas posting effective immediately. Do I make myself clear?'

'Yes, sir.' She wasn't happy, but she knew better than to push her luck further. 'Permission to check on the prisoner, medically speaking.'

'Granted, but tread carefully,' he replied, his eyes already focused back on the document in front of him.

'Yes, sir.'


	15. Chapter 15

Jack was a bit vague when he woke. He wasn't sure if it was coming back from death or coming back from the drugs. He tried sitting up but it hurt like hell. Both his chest and abdomen felt like they'd been kicked in by a mad horse. Not dead then, he surmised. Dead would have have fixed that. He wasn't sure if that was good fortune or not. Dead might have been better.

He lay flat on his back and just breathed for a few minutes. He knew how UNIT operated, and how they liked to treat their prisoners. He just hadn't expected them to turn on him quite so quickly. He was still the leader of Torchwood, and still the organisation aligned closest to UNIT. Though that didn't seem to count for much right now.

Perhaps they thought this might be their only chance to try and find out what made tick. Owen had run all the tests in the world and still couldn't figure it out. The Doctor wasn't much more help. He simply was what he was. It defied all science.

But try telling that to these guys, he thought. If that was experiment number one, he dreaded to think just how far they might go to obtain answers. He prayed Ianto and Martha would find him a way out of here before it came to that.


	16. Chapter 16

Ianto received an icy reception as he entered the Torchwood cells with a tray of food. He'd left Jack to cool his heels in the cells for a few hours, but now it was getting very late. He hadn't even thought about food all day, but he'd been sat up with Myfanwy in her eyrie, feeding her and wracking his brain over their current problems when he found his own hand absently dipping into her bucket of roughly chopped apple and banana, munching on it while he thought. She didn't seem to mind sharing.

Jack considered him for a moment, before picking up the mug of coffee and taking a sip. The look was one of wavering trust. Ianto figured that this version of Jack had probably been locked up on more than one occasion and was naturally distrustful of any food presented. That said he also seemed to know that if Ianto had wanted him harmed, he'd had plenty of opportunities to do so already, so any offer of food was probably safe.

His eyebrows raised slightly as the taste of the coffee hit his taste buds, and Ianto couldn't help but smile in spite of himself that no matter what incarnation, his coffee would never cease to impress.

'You always treat your detainees so well, or only the ones that look like your boyfriend?'

The statement knocked the wind slightly out of him, reminding him yet again that this Jack was very different from his own. 'How did you?'

'Please, it's written all over your pathetic face. Besides, who wouldn't want a piece of this? Though I used to have better taste.'

Well, Some things never change, Ianto thought bemused. 'Torchwood aren't in the habit of torturing prisoners, in case you hadn't already figure that out.'

'Lucky me,' he replied flatly. 'Though I hate to think what your success rate is like in that case.'

'I thought you might like some company.'

'What would give you that impression?'

Ianto refused to be taken in by his stubbornness. 'Well, since it's just you down here, and me upstairs in the hub, what have you got to lose? Unless of course you'd rather sit down here all on your own for who knows how long. You're not much good at not being the centre of attention, and Janet's not going to give you much heed, no matter how hard you try.'

Hopefully not too long, Ianto thought to himself. Pretty as you are, I'd rather have my Jack back.

Jack raised his eyes to meet Ianto's gaze and Ianto could sense some of the defensive walls beginning to lower, just slightly.

'Fine,' Jack conceded, picking up a sandwich and biting into it ruthlessly.

'Hungry?' Ianto observed, taking a small bite out of his own sandwich.

'Just a bit. Haven't eaten since the last morning before I hyper jumped. Too busy avoiding being picked up by a cyber patrol.'

'What happened?' Ianto asked, lowering himself to the floor so that he was now looking up at Jack sat on the shelf that acted as a seat and bed. 'I'm guessing from your reaction earlier, Jack being immortal in this universe is news to you.'

'Some people get all the luck.'

Ianto watched as he devoured the first half of the sandwich, and then started on the second. Just when he thought he wasn't going to get a response, Jack began talking.

'I was commissioned to procure a device. Good money by all regards and low risk for me. Perfect combination. It also helped that the guys I was doing the buying for had plans to use it to take out an ex Time Agency director who was muscling in on their turf. A win-win for me since he was the one responsible for wiping two years of my memories. Would have loved to see his little empire fall. Guess now I never will.'

'How did you know where to find it?'

'The device? They're not exactly rare, just hard to obtain. I bought some good intel that said I could find one on this planet in this time. Well, when I say this planet, I mean Earth, but in my universe. The rest was easy. I just didn't figure my vortex manipulator would conk out and leave me stuck there, and that everything would go to pieces quite so quickly.

'I never made it to UNIT. Daleks had already taken over, but I got wind of Torchwood and headed there. For safety as much as anything. Figured if I couldn't find what I needed, Torchwood might have something that could fix it. Things weren't much better there.

'Turns out Torchwood were none too happy with UNIT. Reports were that UNIT had been experimenting with something called a Genesis Ark. That's what brought the daleks through. That's why they were the first to fall. At the same time Torchwood were experimenting with something called a ghost machine. It let through the cybermen.

'Daleks and cybermen decided this planet wasn't big enough for the both of them. Daleks started invading Torchwood trying to destroy the cybermen. Torchwood had managed to isolate a few floors where they were holding out a resistance. For the most part, I think they were less worried about the humans until one army managed to wipe out the other. Cybermen had already converted most of the Torchwood personnel, using them to bulk out their forces.

'I managed to infiltrate before the main battle took off in a big way. That's when I discovered the team trying to connect with alternate universes using the void hopper technology, that round yellow thing you found on me, searching for a way to stop both of them. I though all my Christmases had come at once. At least if I couldnt fix my vortex manipulator, I could get the hell outta dodge.'

Ianto struggled to marry his concept of Jack with the man stood in front of him. Here was a man prepared to put his own needs ahead of those of an entire planet.

'So,' Jack continued, 'I waited until I could get one of them alone. He needed something from a lab on another floor that was already teeming with daleks. I volunteered to go with him as backup. As soon as we were far enough away, I disabled him and took the void hopper. Then I just jumped and landed here. No daleks. No cybermen. Suddenly I'm back in the game.'

'You left him there? Knowing the place was full of daleks?'

'Survival of the fittest. Oh, and just so you know, so far I haven't confessed to any wrongdoing on this planet.'

'Duly noted,' Ianto replied through clenched teeth.

'Nice thing about alternate universes. The closer they are together, the more you can rely on things being the same. Now, assuming I might put together a plan as to what to do next, which, for the record, I didn't carry out, just in case you thought you were going to get lucky and get a confession. I actually have no idea who your mystery thief is. So anyway, the plan. Step one. Go back and get the device from UNIT. Step two. Make for Torchwood and fix my vortex manipulator. Step three. Go get my money and start spending it. Vegas Galaxy would be my first choice, but there are plenty of other places where currency will get you pretty much anything you want.'

'Isn't your buyer stuck back in the other universe?'

'Sure, but I still have, had,' he corrected, 'the void hopper. And with my vortex manipulator fixed, I don't have to be stuck on Earth while it all goes to hell. One push of the button and it's hypervodkas til sunrise in Telisia.'

'Seems like you had it all figured out. Assuming you decided to go ahead with your plan, that is.' Let him perpetuate the lie, eventually he'll slip up.

'Even if I didn't, I still needed to fix my vortex manipulator. Unfortunate that I had to come all the way out here to find Torchwood. I was expecting it to be in London, but I guess this is an alternate universe. Bound to be a few differences '

'It was,' replied Ianto. 'Torchwood London was destroyed by the daleks and the cybermen three years ago.'

'You don't say?'

'I was there when it happened,' he replied in a low voice.

Jack locked eyes with the young man and could tell there was no lie hidden beneath it.

'Can I ask you something?'

Jack's eyes narrowed at him. 'That depends.'

'Those memories you lost. Did you ever get them back?'

Jack paused. The question caught him off guard. 'Yup.' He looked away as he said it.

Suddenly Ianto wanted to know, more than he'd ever wanted to know anything about Jack. His Jack didn't know what had happened. They'd spent hours speculating on various scenarios. Perhaps that he'd chosen to have them wiped, other scenarios where they'd been taken by force, but always the fear was that it was because of something bad that had happened. Something that someone didn't want remembered. Still, Ianto could tell it plagued Jack not knowing one way or the other.

'Tell me what happened?' Ianto asked hopefully.

Jack considered for a moment. It was a diversion from their current conversation, which was all about who could outplay who in a game of lies. He knew he was being toyed with until he gave away something. It wouldn't ever happen. Jack knew he was too good to get caught out. He knew every trick in the book. He'd been an interrogator and a torturer longer than this boy had been alive.

But this was unexpected. He'd had no reason to want to talk about it. Not with anyone ever. He'd only ever spoken of it with one other person, and they'd been stuck together in a time loop for five years. They'd become intimately close in that time. This man had known him for less than a day, and their rapport was hardly friendly, or if it was, it was totally one-sided. Yet he found himself wanting to share this very private moment in his life. He couldn't put a finger on why. Could it be perhaps because another version of him had become equally intimate with this man?

'We were sent to a planet in the Vorahs Cluster to ease the civil unrest breaking out between the two major continents. Each was developing high end warp technology, capable of obliterating entire planets. Seemed they'd decided if they couldn't have the planet, the others couldn't have it either.

'The Time Agency decided the weapons were too deadly to fall into the hands of any one planet or race. We were supposed to be going in to start a disarmament on both sides. Twelve months of fruitless negotiations and plenty of skirmishes by forces on both sides, trying to break into the others research facilities to steal technology or corrupt their systems. Time Agents sat on both sides trying to prevent the break ins, and killing a lot of people in the process. It seemed neither race was going to back down, and the risks of one side getting too close to completing the technology and using it became too great. Then they came.'

'Who came?'

'The creatures that attacked my home world when I was a kid. Creatures that kidnapped my little brother. I heard their screeches of war. We had weaponry capable of fighting them but the Time Agency, they pulled us out. We were told to let them come and to kill them or take them. They decided that the best disarmament strategy would be to let them wipe out the entire planet and everyone on it. That way no one would survive to replicate the technology they'd created. Only then I found out that the Agency had sent them the coordinates for the planet. Told them they could have it. Our disarmament programme was nothing more than a ruse to comply with Shadow Proclamation laws. They manufactured the annihilation of an entire world. And we stood by and let it happen.'

Ianto was shocked. He'd thought that the Time Agency was supposed to protect people, at least, that's what Jack had told him. That many of the agents had profited on the side thanks to their ability to travel through time and space, seemed irrelevant. Jack had left because of what happened, without knowing the real reason why.

'What happened to you?'

'I found out that the ships they'd sent doubled as prisoner carriers. If I could get on board one, I could find Gray. Either he was already on one of those ships, or they'd take me to where they were keeping them. When they sent us back to the Agency, I stole a ship. I was getting out. I was on my way back to the planet, coming back for him, when the Time Agency caught up with me.

'According to them we were pulled out for our own safety, and it would look bad if the Agency was connected in any way to what happened. The official line was that it was mere coincidence that they'd turned up just when things were going south. I knew otherwise, so the only way they could ensure that no one discovered the truth was to make sure no one talked.'

'They took your memories to prevent you telling anyone what happened?'

'No!' Jack slammed the bench with his hand. It caused Ianto to jump in alarm. 'They took the only chance I ever had of finding Gray. Do you know how many years I spent searching for him? He was the whole reason I joined the Time Agency. And they knew how to contact those creatures. Finally, finally I find him and they took that away from me.' Jack looked away and stared at the farthest corner of the cell, clearly upset and angry.

'But you got those memories back eventually. Didn't you go back?'

'It was too late. They'd moved on. The planet was completely desolate. Any chance I had of finding Gray was gone.'

'I'm sorry for what they did to you.' Sorry just didn't seem adequate to him. If even half of it was accurate for his version of Jack, it explained a lot.

Jack stared wistfully for a moment before the stony facade fell back into place on his face. 'I think I'll get some rest now, seeing as I'm not going anywhere.'

Ianto felt slightly disappointed and hurt at the obvious dismissal. It seemed like he was finally getting somewhere, and then just like that, he was shut out again. He guessed that after everything he'd been through, he was justified not to trust anyone.

Jack stretched out along the long stone plinth and closed his eyes, ending any discussion.

Ianto inwardly sighed and pulled himself up off the floor.

Jack made no movement as he heard Ianto's footsteps fading down the corridor, and didn't turn his head back until there was silence. Resigned to a night stuck in the vaults, he tucked one arm behind his head and settled himself. He'd slept rough in worse places.

He'd only had his eyes closed for a moment when the sound of footsteps returned and a swishing sound indicated the door being opened and quickly shut again. He opened an eye and found a thick blanket folded on the floor near the door. The young man was quietly watching him.

'It gets quite cold down here,' he said, by way of explanation.

Jack bent down to pick up the blanket and only gave Ianto a momentary glance. 'Thanks,' he replied, tucking it around his body and curling up on his side, still facing the wall.

Ianto waited for a minute, still staring at the figure huddled in the cell. Somewhere his Jack was also huddled in a cold dark cell, but probably not receiving anywhere near the same hospitality. He wished he could be there, but would have to settle for this poor imitation. For now there was nothing else he could be doing, and he didn't really feel like being alone.

He sat back down to the floor, back resting up against the buttress, side on to the reinforced perspex cell door, and continued to watch over the imposter Jack.

Jack seemed to sense that the man was still there and wasn't in a hurry to leave. Jack didn't care, he was going to ignore him just the same.


	17. Chapter 17

When Jack woke the next morning he was slightly surprised to find Ianto still there. He was slumped against the wall, head leaning against the perspex at an odd angle where he'd fallen asleep, ostensibly watching over Jack.

Jack considered the man with curiosity. He clearly felt very strongly for this universe's version of him, but couldn't figure out why he felt the need to be bothered with him.

The movement in the cell caused Ianto to stir awake, and he shivered involuntarily.

'Any more of that coffee going?'

Ianto raised an eyebrow at him, a little surprised to find himself still down here, and even more surprised that Jack was speaking to him. He didn't remember falling asleep.

'It gets quite cold down here,' Jack offered as explanation.

'That depends,' Ianto countered, 'are you prepared to admit to breaking into UNIT and killing those men?'

There it was, Ianto thought, as the silence pervaded the room, and the door slammed shut in his face as the old stony Jack returned with a vengeance.

'I'll be here if you need me,' replied Jack, walking away to the back of the cell and parking himself there.

'Right,' Ianto sighed. Guess it's going to be a long day then.

Less than 24 hours to save Jack. He was going to need a better mousetrap.

 

 

Ianto had been hard at work all morning, trying to piece together all of the pieces of the puzzle. Jack still wasn't prepared to confess to anything, even though Ianto now had almost a full working knowledge of how he'd come to be here and what his plans were. How he was going to catch him out on the lie was another matter completely. Jack was the best of the best when it came to snaking his way out of the truth with his lies and half truths. He was tempted to just take everything he already had, plus Jack, straight down to UNIT hope and hope for the best. Time was running out on him.

UNIT's willingness to take it all on face value was still questionable. Right now they had Jack, and they weren't about to give him up without a really good reason. It was an absolute fluke for them to finally have the freedom to run whatever tests they wanted, to find out what made him tick, with absolutely no down side. Second prize would be getting Torchwood shut down, and having unfettered access to all of their information and technology.

Not succeeding meant the end of Torchwood, and Ianto couldn't let that happen. He'd almost convinced himself that this was his only remaining option, which must have been subconsciously agreed to, because he found his feet had taken him all the way down to the cells by the time he'd reached that desperate conclusion.


	18. Chapter 18

Janet growled quietly as Ianto passed by her cell, probably annoyed that she was suddenly no longer his favourite inmate. It was nice to know someone missed him, he thought.

'Are you playing nice with Jack? Making friends?' he asked.

She growled again as if to say that she would prefer it that he be gone.

'Soon, I promise,' he said, continuing their imaginary conversation.

'It's a desperate man that talks to the vicious pets and expects them to talk back,' came the voice from two doors down. 

Ianto kept walking until he came face to face with the perspex door, containing the man to whom the voice belonged. 'Seems to work with you,' Ianto quipped. 'Janet is just misunderstood.'

'Tell me that after you've stood in her cell for ten minutes and been ripped to shreds.'

Ianto didn't give him the satisfaction of agreeing with him. 'And how is the peanut gallery doing?'

Jack stretched out and surveyed him, the reference clearly lost on him. 'Lovely as the accommodations here are, any chance of a shower?'

Ianto raised an eyebrow. It wasn't quite what he expected. 'Seriously?'

Jack's look was one of sincerity, mixed with that puppy dog look that Ianto's own version of Jack had perfected in order to get what he wanted with minimum fuss. Ianto always hated the way that look made his resolve crumble.

'What's in it for me?'

'Maybe we could talk after?'

Ianto stood there for a long while contemplating what it meant. Could it really be that Jack was coming around? He had to believe it was worth a try. He pulled his gun from the back of his belt and deactivated the door lock, keeping his gun trained on Jack. 'No funny business, alright?'

'Promise.'

Ianto lead him through a series of corridors and stairways to their communal bathrooms. All the while Jack asked him what he'd been doing, had he found out what was happening to his version of Jack? He suddenly seemed to have taken an interest in his alternate. Might it be possible that he could collect enough evidence to free his Jack without giving him up? Could he perhaps help? A win-win for everyone as he put it. That was the suggestion he made as he began stripping off his shirt.

'But you killed those men.' Somehow Ianto struggled to get past that particular part. It was the one thing he had to hold on to, to remind him that this was not his Jack.

'Just how bad is this place they've got him locked up?' Jack asked, removing his undershirt. 'It's pretty bad, isn't it? Otherwise why would you be trying so hard to free him?'

Ianto had been trying not to think about how bad it was. He knew how bad it had been when Tosh had been locked up there. The fact that she'd said very little about the whole experience spoke volumes. Jack was likely to be treated far worse.

Ianto did his best to keep his expression neutral. 'He's immortal. They'll torture him, experiment on him. Try and find out why he can't die. Not to mention the knowledge they'll try to get out of him, by any means necessary.'

'And would giving me up to UNIT achieve anything?'

'I'd get Jack back. He'd be safe.'

'And you'd be willing to let me suffer the same fate in his place? You think they wouldn't try to pump me for information too? Could you really condemn me to that? Could you?'

Ianto knew he couldn't. Wasn't that why Jack had asked him the question in the first place? If he traded this Jack for his, it made him no better than this Jack, sacrificing someone else for his own needs. But what else could he do?

Jack turned away when Ianto didn't answer, dissatisfied, removing the rest of his clothes and stepping into the cubicle. He wasn't fussed about being naked, even at gunpoint.

At the sound of the water starting up, Ianto slumped down onto the nearby bench, laying the gun down beside him, and running hands through his hair. When had things gotten so complicated? His head felt muddled full of emotions that shouldn't be there. He loved Jack. His Jack. He'd do anything for him, but could he sacrifice another human being for him? Especially if that other human being was another version of him? What gave him that right? Did he have feelings for him? He'd seen what this Jack was, what he'd been in the past, but also what he might be in the future, given the right chances. This hadn't been part of the plan.

He didn't get a chance to ponder these thoughts any further. His head was still in his hands when the figure silently approached him from behind, the sound of the water slapping onto the tiled floor masking the footsteps. He didn't notice his gun carefully picked up from its abandoned spot beside him. All he felt was the sharp pain that exploded at the back of his head before he keeled forward onto the floor and everything became a blur, then nothing.


	19. Chapter 19

At first the cool feeling on Ianto's cheek was nice, until he realised that it was the cold bathroom floor tiles he was pressed up against. He twisted his head around sharply and immediately regretted it, seeing stars, and feeling like he was going to be sick. His head was killing him. He blinked a few times before the figure above him came into focus. The silhouette was familiar.

'Jack?' he asked blearily.

'Not the one you were hoping for,' came the reply.

Jack was fully dressed once more. He must have done it while Ianto was out cold. Clever, thought Ianto ruefully, trying not to picture a naked Jack cracking his own gun over the back of his head while he'd been sitting there feeling sorry for him.

'Get up.' Ianto found his own glock being pointed at his chest.

Ianto didn't move, though he wasn't certain if that was defiance, or just not wanting to move and sick up all over the floor. Somewhere in his head, being shot was considered the better alternative.

'I said, get up.' The command broached no argument.

Ianto struggled to his feet, head still spinning from the earlier whack. The cool floor that he'd been on moments earlier seemed better than his current predicament.

'Take us back to the hub.'

Ianto couldn't help but remember the last time he'd been given that instruction, being held at gunpoint by Jack. Ironic. At least last time he'd probably deserved it. Last time, he'd been the one in the wrong.

Ianto slowly lead him back to the main bowels of the hub. Even the soft trickling of water down the tower, and the gentle hum of various machinery, usually soothing, felt like a cacophony of sound to his pounding head.

There wasn't time for anything clever at this point, he just had to go with it. Maybe he could get Myfanwy to attack on command. Then again, she probably wouldn't know it wasn't really Jack. The idea now seemed completely ludicrous. Maybe he'd hit his head harder than he thought.

'Why are you doing this?'

'Why are you doing this?' Jack mocked. 'Please. You really thought I was going to help you?'

'Yes.'

Jack barked out a laugh. It was harsh and tinged with cynicism. It sent an icy chill of foreboding rippling down his spine. 'Let me tell you something Jones, Ianto Jones. Whatever you thought was going on here was a lie.'

'No,' Ianto declared defiantly.

'Yes. From the moment I got here, everything I've done was to get out and to get access to this. You might not have the exact technology to fix this,' he said holding up his left wrist and showing off his vortex manipulator, 'but given enough time here, I can find other ways to get this working. And some of the other kit you've got here isn't half bad. I might take a few souvenirs with me.'

'You don't have time. In twenty four hours, this place will be swarming with UNIT soldiers come to take over Torchwood.'

'You think a few soldiers scare me? If you have half the stuff here I think you have, they won't stand a chance against me. Kind of a shame that you're so pretty but so stupid. We could've made a good team. But right now, my plan is to get off this planet as quickly as possible.'

Ianto was halfway caught between shock, hurt and fuming anger. 'You can't leave! What about Jack?'

'You seriously expect me to care about some alternate version of me stuck in prison? I don't think so. Now, give me the code to the weapons store like a good little minion.'

Ianto stood there in muted silence, his determination etched into his features.

'No?' Jack cocked his gun and forced the butt into the small of Ianto's back. 'Code. Now!' he said pushing Ianto roughly forward.

Ianto made a move to comply with the instruction, letting himself be lead across the hub. His calm facade belied the multitude of thoughts running through his head as he tried desperately to formulate a way out of this mess. By the time they'd reached the storeroom he hadn't managed to come up with a plan.

To ensure further compliance, Jack's gun had moved from the small of his back to the back of his head, pressing into the base of his skull where Ianto knew it would do most damage. It hardly seemed worth considering the point. If Jack shot him in the head, it wouldn't really matter the precise location, he'd be just as equally dead.

'Now who's condemning who?' Ianto asked. When he didn't get any more response than the gun being pressed harder to his head, he reluctantly entered the twelve digit code and the door swished open with a gentle hiss of hydraulics.

Jack quickly entered, keeping his gun trained on Ianto as he surveyed his options. 'Kudos to whoever put this collection together, but I must say there's a few essentials missing.'

Ianto got the feeling he knew what Jack meant, and was suddenly glad for the secure archives, although if Jack was planning on sticking around for a few days he might uncover that little secret. Ianto would not give that one up quite so easily. Better he be shot in the head than give Jack access to those items.

'Ah, this will do nicely,' he said, picking up a rather nasty looking automatic. 'The technology is fairly primitive but very effective nonetheless. Oh, and these will come in handy too,' grabbing a set of handcuffs. 'Move.' Jack demanded, pointing his gun in the general direction of Ianto and indicating that he should move back out of the store.

What he failed to notice was the sleight of hand Ianto employed whilst Jack was browsing, to quickly slide one of their standard issue handguns from its benchside slot and conceal it under his jacket. It was a skill that the team had always marvelled at, how he could quickly produce retcon and a bottle of water seemingly from thin air at a moments notice. Ironic to think that the shoplifting skills he'd procured in his youth, that had gotten him into so much trouble, now served to mainly get him out of trouble in his current occupation.

'Stop,' Jack said as they were stood near the spiral stairs, snapping the cuff around Ianto's left hand. In the moment's distraction as Jack locked the other cuff around the handrail, Ianto snatched the gun from his jacket. Despite that, Jack's reflexes were lightning quick and both men found themselves with guns pointed directly at each others heads, just inches apart in a standoff. 

'Seems you're not as stupid as I first thought,' Jack sneered. 'Still, we both know you'll never pull the trigger.'

'You think so?'

'I know so.' Jack smiled, and it made another shiver run down Ianto's spine. 'You still like to think I'm him.'

Ianto hated him being right. All he could do was stare determinedly back.

'See, me,' Jack said, flexing his hand around the unfamiliar gun, 'I have absolutely no compunction whatsoever about blowing your head off if you get in my way.'

'You won't. You're still Jack Harkness.'

Jack's hand tensed, blue eyes hard like ice as he fixed them on Ianto. 'I'm. Not. Him!' He spat the words out with vicious intent.

Ianto felt a calmness descend over him, washing relaxation through all of his muscles. He wasn't afraid of Jack. 'No you're not,' Ianto replied sadly, 'You lost your little brother when you were just kids. You lost your father on the same day. You joined the Time Agency to find Gray and to make things right. Instead, you got caught up in the genocide of an entire planet at the same time as finally finding the creatures who took your brother, and the Time Agency stole those memories from you so that they could continue to use you as a soldier. You just escaped an alternate Earth where daleks and cybermen were taking over, killing and converting everyone. And now you're stuck here with no friends and no way back.'

Jack faltered for a moment, incensed at having all the injustices of his life relayed to him by this one insignificant man.

'You can't hide away from your past Jack, and you can't put the past right, but you can change your future. You can continue to be a conman and a criminal, and try and fill your life with small victories, or you can stand up and be the great man you are capable of being. Let us help you. Let me help you. Please.'

Jack hadn't noticed the tear streaking down his face. For the first time in his life, he realised that this was someone offering him help. Others had offered him success, money, pleasure, and a dozen other superficial desires, and he had taken them all. But no one had ever offered him help.

Gun still pointed firmly at Ianto's head, Jack forced himself to speak, his emotions oscillating wildly. 'Why would you do that?'

Ianto sobbed out a large breath, dropping his gun hand his side. 'Because I believe in you. And because Gray is still alive.'

Jack searched his face for any traces of deception but found only honesty in the young man's eyes. Why couldn't he see the monster that Jack was? The things he'd done made him the worst kind of human being, and yet this man believed he could redeem himself. 'Gray's alive? You found him?'

'He's broken, damaged, but you can fix him.' He didn't want to mention that Jack hadn't been able to bring himself to take Gray out of stasis, too scared that he was damaged beyond repair. Maybe this other Jack's Gray could still be saved. He had to believe he could be.

Jack slowly lowered his gun. Tears now streaming down his face. What he wouldn't give to have his little brother back. 

Ianto let out the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

'Why are you telling me this?'

'I don't want to give you up to UNIT. I just want Jack back. My Jack. Please help me do that.'

Jack's chest was still heaving but his desire to flee was waning. How could another version of him mean so much to this one man? Could he really be even half as worthy as his alternate self? He'd never bothered to consider it a possibility. Perhaps he could change for the better. 'So what happens now?' Jack asked, trying to regain his composure.

'Now we get Jack exonerated. And we figure out a way to do it without you having to take his place in a UNIT detention facility. Then we can try to figure out how to fix your vortex manipulator so that you can go wherever it is you want to go.'

'And you know where Gray is? You can tell me where to find him?'

'I know someone who knows. Maybe you know him, too.'

'You'd do that?'

'I can't make any promises. Jack's vortex manipulator has been broken for over a century, but we'll do what we can. If Jack can fix it, he will.'

'Okay,' Jack agreed, 'even I don't think that sounds like a bad plan. You're quite something else Jones, Ianto Jones. I guess I can see why your Jack likes you.'

'Thanks, I think,' Ianto replied hesitantly.

'You're really ready to trust me? After everything?'

'I've wanted to trust you from the first moment we met,' Ianto replied honestly.

'That's a dangerous tactic,' Jack mused.

'Torchwood's a dangerous place. All you've really got to rely on is each other.'

'Suppose so,' Jack conceded.

'So are we saving Jack? Together?'

'Well, if he's even half as good looking as me, it'd be a shame to let him waste it on prison guards.'

Ianto couldn't help but roll his eyes. Same old Jack.

'Oh, and I've even got an idea on how we stage your jailbreak,' Jack said, turning away and heading for one of the computer bays.

'It's not a jailbreak. This is UNIT. Everything has to be by the book and totally transparent.'

'Don't worry, I've got it under control.'

'Not sure I'm exactly reassured at this point,' Ianto quipped, enjoying the familiarity of the banter that he and Jack shared.

'Relax. I'm a conman by trade. This is what I do best.'

'I'd relax more if you could uncuff me from the railing.'

'Oh, right, sorry,' Jack replied sheepishly, having forgotten, and quickly moving back to the stairs.

'Uh, where do you keep the keys?'

Ianto sighed. 'Weapons store, third drawer on the left.'

'Oh, and guess I should give your phone back,' Jack said, retrieving it from his pocket. 'By the way, who's Martha Jones? Relation? Fourteen missed calls. Somebody misses you.'

Crap, Ianto thought. When had Jack knicked his phone? Martha must be going spare. He hoped she wasn't trying to deliver bad news about Jack.

'She's our way in. Get the keys, I'll call her.'


	20. Chapter 20

The phone didn't even ring twice before Martha picked up.

'Ianto where the hell have you been? I've been trying to call you!'

'I've been tied up,' he replied, shooting daggers at Jack who was now fumbling to get the cuffs unlocked. 'How's Jack? Is he okay?'

'He's fine for the moment. UNIT are perfectly happy to have him locked up indefinitely, but they're making sure they take the opportunity to study him. That's why I've been trying to get hold of you. They want me to head up their medical team to run experiments on him. They'd already drugged him and taken tissue samples before I found out.'

'What?' Ianto was furious. 'Please tell me you didn't!'

'Don't be daft,' she scolded, 'it was all I could do to delay them trying anything. If I'd said no, who knows who they might have put in charge and what they'd do to him. I've stopped them for the moment but I'm not going to be able to put them off much longer. And if I refuse, they will get someone else in to do it.'

'Just hold them off a bit longer, please. We're on our way there now.'

'We? Who's we? Is Gwen back?'

'Long story. Tell you when we get there.'

 

 

Dusk was falling as they hurtled down the M4 en route to London. Traffic was light as the majority of vehicles were headed in the opposite direction, out of the busy city centre and home to quiet suburban towns and villages. 

Ianto had made the trip dozens of times, and could almost drive it in his sleep. Right now though, his mind was far from thoughts of sleep, instead going over their plan again and again, looking for holes, searching for roadblocks, contingencies and alternatives. It was risky, but they might just pull it off.

Jack had sat quietly beside him the whole time. That was something he couldn't say happened every day. Usually he couldn't get Jack to shut up, or at the very least, to sit still. Now he was accomplished in both, amusing himself with the views from the window. Ianto had forgotten temporarily that these sights were new to him, and not the same boring drive that usually drove him to distraction. Ianto too, needed a distraction from the endless thoughts running around in his mind, worry not the least of them, should their plan fail.

'This device,' Ianto asked, looking over at Jack sat in the passenger seat, where he was cradling it in his lap, 'What does it do, exactly?'

Jack was quiet for a moment. 'Probably best I don't say.'

'But someone was going to use it to somehow take down this ex Time Agent, right? If I give it back to UNIT, will it be dangerous? I don't even know if they know what it does.'

'It'll be fine.'

Ianto kept his eyes on the road ahead, but Jack could sense his reticence about wanting to say more.

'I just don't want anyone getting hurt,' Ianto replied softly.

'I can disable it if you like,' Jack offered. 

'You'd do that?'

'I don't want you to think badly of me.'

'I don't.'

'It's okay,' Jack conceded, 'I've done some pretty bad stuff.'

Ianto tried to be reassuring. 'It's not your fault.'

'Yes, it is. I let greed and ambition and selfishness decide things for me. Not like you. You do what's right, no matter what the cost.'

'That's not true. I've done bad stuff, too.' He couldn't help but think of Lisa, and all of the stupid, dangerous things he'd done that had put the whole planet at risk. 'I know what it's like to let selfishness dictate your actions. I try and make up for those mistakes every single day.'

'Is it ever enough?' For the first time, Jack found himself honestly wanting to know the answer.

Ianto didn't respond. He wasn't sure if he knew the answer himself.

Jack decided to change the subject. 'What happens if you can't fix my vortex manipulator? I'll be stuck here, won't I?'

'Would that be so bad? At least it's not a slave colony, and I imagine there are worse places in the universe.'

'You say your Jack's been stuck here for a while?'

'Over a century.'

Jack gave a little snort. 'And he never wanted to leave?'

'Sure he did. But he had to wait for The Doctor. When he finally did turn up, Jack left with him.'

'You didn't go with him?'

'We didn't even know he'd gone until it was too late.'

'He left, just like that? Without saying goodbye?' Jack suddenly felt angry that this universe's version of him had left his lover behind.

'There's wasn't exactly time for goodbyes,' Ianto replied awkwardly.

'But he came back?'

Ianto sat quietly for a moment. He wasn't sure if he should say what he was about to.

'Something happened while he was gone. Something bad. He won't talk about it, but he has nightmares sometimes.'

'He came back for you,' Jack stated more than asked.

'Maybe.' That's what Jack had said. He wasn't always certain if he believed it.

'You don't want to see the universe?'

'One day. It doesn't matter. I've got enough here to keep me happy.' He knew chances were he wouldn't live long enough to see "one day". Jack's promises about the wonders of the universe would likely remain just that, promises.


	21. Chapter 21

Martha felt tense as she approached Jack's cell. She'd spent the better part of half an hour on the phone with Ianto discussing their mad plan. She wasn't entirely convinced it could work, but right now they were out of options. She'd have to be careful about what she said, in case anyone was watching the CCTV in Jack's cell, or decided to check it out later.

'I've got good news,' she announced to Jack. 'They've found the real culprit. They're bringing him in right now.'

'That's great.' Martha's facial expression suggested there was more to it. 'So, why are you not smiling?'

'He's you, Jack. Well, not you you, just another version of you. Alternate universe you.'

Jack gave her one of his trademark grins. 'Ooh, kinky. Think he'll be up for it?'

Martha couldn't help but take the comment in the spirit it was intended. Even at the end of days, Jack would still be standing there trying to crack a joke filled with innuendo. 'If he's you, I'd say that goes without saying. I'm so happy for you, Jack,' she declared, wrapping him in a tight hug.

'Woah, little excited!' Jack laughed, but hugged back just as tightly.

'We're getting you out, but we need to fake your death,' she whispered whilst still hugging him. She felt his body tense against her own. 'We're doing a double bluff prisoner exchange. You need to pretend to be him. He's going to come in here on the pretense of being you to interview you, but instead he's going to drug you and make it look like he's killed you. Whatever happens, just trust us.'

'Okay.' Jack didn't say anymore. They'd already been hugging longer than was strictly necessary. He had more questions but there wasn't time, he just had to hope Martha and Ianto had it under control.


	22. Chapter 22

It felt weird to be walking straight into UNIT HQ with Jack tied up and cuffed in front of him. Twenty four hours ago that had been exactly what he'd been planning on doing. Trading one Jack for another. The guilty for the innocent. Now though, he was trading one, but intending on taking them both back. They had to hope they'd covered their contingencies, or else Ianto would indeed only be leaving with one Jack, and not necessarily the right one.

Martha was there to greet him and to take custody of their prisoner. She still had just enough authority to bypass regular procedures and have Jack taken away before anyone else could find out. It paid not to give too much away until Ianto was good and ready to break the news to Oduya. He'd called ahead, but given him only just long enough to know that he'd be expecting an audience just as soon as he arrived.

Once everything with Martha was in place, Ianto was lead to the Colonel's office.

'Mr Jones,' Colonel Oduya greeted him somewhat icily. 'I was beginning to think that you had given up on submitting your report regarding this incident. Now I see I was mistaken. Coming in person was hardly necessary.'

'So, you don't want the real criminal, then? He's currently being held under arrest right here.'

Oduya frowned before he stood up and Ianto lead him back out of his plush office and down the corridor to another room. A UNIT guard was now stationed outside its door, along with Martha Jones, where he'd left Jack under lock and key.

Ianto opened the door and let the colonel see Jack sat on the floor.

'How did he get out? I gave strict instructions that he was not to be moved under any circumstances!'

'He hasn't been moved, sir,' Martha clarified.

'This is your thief, Colonel,' Ianto explained. Jack fixed him with a deathly glare. 'He came here from an alternate universe and decided to cause some havoc before leaving. UNIT just happened to be in possession of something he was looking to sell on the black market. It's quite a story actually, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I have his full confession taped on record.' He held up a small flash drive and waved it temptingly.

'It's a lie! He coerced me!' Jack ranted. 'I don't know any of you or anything about what happened. I'm innocent!'

Jack was playing his part to a tea. Mind you, Ianto thought, it probably wasn't a stretch to say it's how he would have reacted had Ianto been fully intending on handing him over in place of the other Jack.

'I imagine you'll also be wanting this,' Ianto said, reaching across to the small table, holding up the stolen device and watching the reaction on Oduya's face, which confirmed that this was indeed their stolen artefact.

'How do we know that this is the real Jack Harkness? Who's to say you haven't created some sort of clone to take his place? God only knows what kind of technology you might have hidden at Torchwood. And the fact that Captain Harkness had sufficient time to hand the device to you on his return to Cardiff before we arrested him.'

Ianto kept his tone placid and calm. Let Oduya be the one on the back foot. It would only make it easier to convince him that things were exactly as Ianto intended them to seem. 

'It's not a clone, I can assure you. Run whatever kind of DNA tests you like. It's his blood you found at your crime scene. He's just as real as the Jack you've got locked up downstairs. Plus, I have copies of the CCTV footage from both Cardiff Central Train station and backtracked the footage to London where he first embarked, time stamped to prove that this version of Jack was in London at the time of the break in and travelled back to Cardiff where he was apprehended by me. So ask yourself, if you had Jack in custody here, how could he also be on a train headed for Cardiff at the same time?'

The colonel fixed him with an uncertain stare, before glancing at the imposter Jack, and then at Martha Jones.

'I can begin running a DNA comparison if you want, sir. We should also run a full body scan of both of them to confirm.' That was Martha's part of the plan. Somehow she had to get them both in the one room at the same time and make the faked switch. It would only be believable if the imposter Jack went into the room and looked to be leaving it as their new prisoner, when in actual fact, the real Jack Harkness was being reimprisoned.

'Very well,' the colonel relented. 'Start the profiling whilst Mr Jones and I review his other evidence.'

'Yes, sir.'

'I should note then, Colonel,' Ianto interjected, 'that in my interview with the imposter, he revealed that he is not immortal, unlike this universe's Jack Harkness. I say that so you might be gentler in your medical testing.' Ianto couldn't help but let a little bit of resentment seep into the comment, letting him know full well that he was aware of what kind of experminatations they had been conducting on Jack so far.

'Duly noted.' The colonel gave no admission of guilt in his reply, nor any apology.


	23. Chapter 23

It was one thing for Martha to meet the duplicate Jack in person. It was another thing entirely to have them both in the same room at the same time. Had it not been for the fact that one was wearing a light blue shirt and the other a dark blue shirt, she'd have been unable to tell them apart at all.

'Blimey, he really is you, Jack,' she remarked, looking from one to the other.

'Hey, I'm not him,' New Jack complained. 'If anything, he's me.'

'Right, uh, what should I call you?' she asked, referring to New Jack.

'Anything you like, sweetheart.'

'Hey!' Jack barked. 'She's off limits.'

'Alright! Can we just focus, yeah?' The last thing Martha needed was the pair of them having a real altercation.

'I'm going to have to take some DNA samples,' she said, addressing New Jack. 'Can you uncuff him, please?' she asked the guard. He returned her request with a raised eyebrow. 'I need him to be able to take his shirt off,' she explained. 

'Seriously?'

'I have to insist on it. You do your job and I'll do mine.'

'Yes, ma'am.' The guard reluctantly uncuffed New Jack, just long enough for him to disrobe the garment. Martha took care to fold the shirt and placed it in a plastic bag on a side bench. She did the same with Jack, taking the light blue shirt and putting it in a separate bag. The two were sat cuffed on opposite sides of the room and with the guard still there, it made it impossible to switch them, identical as they were.

She made a point of taking her time running her procedures slowly, knowing that eventually the guard would grow bored. That's when her moment came.

'Excuse me, ma'am. Do you mind if I use the bathroom? I can get someone to relieve my post.'

'That's okay,' she replied. 'They're both cuffed and shackled. Not like they're going anywhere. I can handle them.'

'Very good, ma'am. Thank you.'

As soon as the guard left, Martha leapt into action. 'Swap places.'

'I know I said I'd trust you,' said Jack, 'but doesn't this mean I go back in the slammer? I thought you were supposed to be breaking me out?'

'We need them to think they've got the right Jack now,' Martha explained.

'Who came up with this plan? Tell me it wasn't you,' Jack said, narrowing his eyes at New Jack.

'Why can't you just be grateful?'

'Are you serious? You're the reason I'm here in the first place.'

'And right now I could be back in Cardiff shagging your boyfriend. Instead I'm here trying to save your arse.'

Jack made a lunging movement across the room towards New Jack. The only thing that stopped him was the restrictive shackles around his ankles and Martha interceding between them, placing a firm hand against his chest.

'Oi!' she shouted. 'You can fight it out later. Do either of you want to spend the rest of your life locked up here?'

'No,' they both responded in unison. Jack glared at New Jack. He didn't like even sharing the same reply, let alone the same room.

Martha placed a conciliatory hand on his chest. 'Jack, please just trust us.'

Jack huffed but fell into step. He wasn't used to taking a back seat. He was the Captain. New Jack seemed to take pleasure in it.

By the time the guard returned to the room, it appeared as if nothing had changed, both Jacks were still sat on opposite sides of the room.

'Right, that's everything done,' she declared. 'You can get dressed again.'

She carefully made sure to swap the shirts over so that New Jack was now wearing Jack's pale blue shirt, and Jack now had the dark blue shirt. The guard never noticed the changeover, and if he had, Martha would use the excuse that she'd had to get them to trade places to complete her tests.

'I've got to go and report my findings to Colonel Oduya. Can you stay here and guard them?'

'Yes, ma'am,' came the reply.


	24. Chapter 24

The confession video made for interesting viewing. Jack and Ianto had compiled it before they left the hub, splicing together parts of the original interview Ianto had conducted, with carefully acted out parts to fill in the gaps. Had the situation not been so dire, they might have even admitted to enjoying the play acting. They both certainly thought the finished product was very convincing. Oduya seemed convinced for the most part. It probably helped that whilst they were watching the video, Jack's DNA test had come back a match.

When Martha knocked on the colonel's door, it was Ianto who opened it. Oduya was sat behind his polished desk, looking suitably contrite and a little bit resigned to the fact that Martha was about to deliver the news he'd been dreading.

'Doctor Jones?'

'It's confirmed, sir. Identical DNA profiles. The man you have in custody is innocent.'

'It would appear so,' he agreed. 'Mr Jones has put forward some very compelling evidence that seems to prove that there are indeed two versions of the Captain.'

'I trust you'll be releasing Jack now?' Ianto asked.

'I'm not an unreasonable man. What's their status, Dr Jones?'

'Both under guard in my lab, sir.'

'Then let's go and resolve this ridiculous saga.'

He marched efficiently out of his office, allowing Ianto and Martha to follow in tow. Ianto managed to lock eyes with Martha and she gave him the briefest of nods. So far, so good.

 

 

When Oduya entered the lab, he looked confused. In any other situation, it might have been considered funny.

'How am I supposed to tell them apart?'

'I'm the real Jack Harkness.' said one Jack.

'That's debatable,' retorted the other.

'This is absurd,' Oduya complained.

'It's simple, I can prove it without a shadow of a doubt,' said Ianto.

Oduya didn't want to take instructions from Torchwood, but even he had to admit, the men in front of him interested him. And if anyone could tell them apart, then good luck to them. Perhaps he'd wait to see what they made of it.

Ianto felt his stomach flip knowing that Jack was so close and yet, before this was over, he'd have to let him go again.

'Ianto Jones! Boy, am I glad to see you! And who the hell is he?' said New Jack, acting all the part as if he were the original.

'Go to hell,' spat Jack.

Ianto made to break up their quarrel. He cleared his throat loudly. 

 'When he travelled through from his alternate universe, he got covered in void radiation. The void is the space that exists between universes. It's what the daleks and cybermen used to invade Canary Wharf three years ago. Look,' Ianto held up the PDA screen in front of Jack. It showed him covered in thousands of tiny particles. He then turned it toward New Jack, who came back clean. The PDA had been rigged to show an inverse image of the radiation. He quickly shut it off before anyone could argue with the readings.

'He's right,' added Martha. 'It's the same particle residue we found on one of the unit soldiers who was killed. It must have transferred when they came into contact. We couldn't identify it here, but Torchwood's records show it's the same radiation they had in London.'

'You can't be serious. I'm the real Jack!' protested Jack.

Ianto came and stood before Jack. He knew he was the real one, but bloody hell, it was confusing keeping it straight in his own head as to which was which. Even so, there was the tiniest warmth in his eyes when they connected, which confirmed that he was the real Jack Harkness. He wanted so badly to reach out and touch his face, and let him know everything would be okay. Instead he had to focus hard on not letting his own emotions show, lest they give them both away.

'I'm sorry, but you're not. You're a killer. You don't belong here.'

Jack could barely process the words coming out of Ianto's mouth. He knew it was part of the plan, and he knew he had to play his part as well. He just wished their experience in role playing, combined with Ianto's natural skills as a liar, weren't so damn good. He could almost believe he was the wrong Jack.

'Colonel?' Ianto asked, looking back at him for the answer to his question.

Oduya nodded. 'Release Captain Harkness. The real one,' he clarified.

The guard stepped forward and unlocked the restraints on New Jack's wrists and ankles.

'Always a pleasure doing business with UNIT,' New Jack drawled sarcastically.

'Apologies, Captain, but you have to see how it looked from our point of view.'

'Don't I always? Just a little trigger happy, was it?'

'Perhaps we can continue the conversation up in my office?' Oduya suggested, trying to save face in front of Martha and the guard. It didn't do well to look stupid in front of the rank and file.

'That might be best.' New Jack agreed.

The colonel nodded in acquiescence and ordered that Jack be taken to his cell.

'Wait,' New Jack said. He walked over to Jack and relieved him of his vortex manipulator. 'I'll be taking that,' he said, but looking back at Oduya as he said it. 'Assuming it works, it's way too dangerous to leave in UNIT's hands.'

The colonel accepted the motion begrudgingly. He wouldn't have minded keeping it for himself to see what the experts made of it. Suddenly his name in the annals of history began looking unlikely.  

'No! You can't do this!' Jack protested once more. 'I haven't done anything! You've got the wrong guy!'

'Not this time,' replied Colonel Oduya.  

Four faces looked forlornly at the desperate figure as he was dragged out of the room.

Only three knew the truth. Phase one was now complete.


	25. Chapter 25

Back in Oduya's office, Ianto and New Jack were discussing some finer points regarding their imposter.

'UNIT will be keeping him in custody until such time as we can determine his usefulness.'

'In other words, forever,' Jack replied sardonically.

'If necessary,' came the curt response. 'I might remind you that the crimes you were charged with were in actual fact perpetrated by this man?' 

Jack and Ianto had known this would happen. UNIT would never willingly give up their prisoner. They'd have to force his hand somehow.

'I want to interview him,' stated Jack.

'I'm sure that can be arranged in due course.'

'No, I know what you people are like. By the time you're ready, there might not be enough of him left to interview, going by personal experience,' he added coldly, causing Oduya to squirm slightly under the scrutiny. Now that Jack was free, this was a meeting of equals. The head of Torchwood and the head of UNIT ranked equally in the eyes of the Crown. Ianto had made sure New Jack knew that. He'd sensed they'd need the authoritative backing to get what they wanted.

'I want to interview him right now. I need to know what he knows.' The determined look on his face suggested he wasn't about to back down. 'It's the least you can do given the circumstances, don't you think?'

Once again, Oduya hated being rerouted by Torchwood, but he acquiesced. Torchwood could make his life difficult in the long run. A favour now, was a favour less he'd be called upon to collect later.

Ianto made to follow Jack out of the office before being pulled up. 'Just me,' Jack instructed.

Ianto made a show of looking disappointed. It was all for Oduya's benefit. He needed to feel as if he wasn't the only one being forced to take orders.

Oduya sighed and indicated to a nearby soldier to take Jack down to the holding cell.


	26. Chapter 26

Their act in Martha's lab might have been mainly for show, but there was no denying the icy reception that Jack gave New Jack when he entered the cell, alone.

'Finally I get a chance to chat with the famous Captain Jack Harkness,' he sneered. 'Though seeing as I'm supposed to be conducting an interview, I might as well make the most of our little special time.'

'Been enjoying yourself, have you?' Jack asked.

'You never used to be this sarcastic. Or is that me? I forget now. I figured if I ever met me, we'd spend several weeks together in bed. Busting myself outta jail, not so surprising, but I figure I'm not going to get the reward I was hoping for at the end of it.'

'Seen a lot of things,' replied Jack. 'Changes a person. Sometimes,' he added, glaring balefully back. 

'So you insist. I still say you're me, whatever you think.'

Jack smiled and shook his head. 'I'm not even close to you.'

New Jack bristled. 'You think you're better than me?'

'I know I am. I would never have killed people just because they got in my way. You, on the other hand, don't see to have a problem with it.'

'Oh, you have changed, haven't you? What's this sudden revelation that's made you all holier than thou?'

Jack considered him for a moment. 'You never met The Doctor, did you?'

'Doctor who?'

Jack snickered and stared up at him. 'I used to be you. Rogue, self-centered, always looking for a way to make a quick buck. The Doctor changed all that. Made me realise there's more to life than just looking out for number one.'

'And immortal to boot,' New Jack added cynically. 'Haven't you just hit the lottery?'

'Wasn't part of the plan. Believe me, if I could go back and prevent it, I would.'

'Not likely,' New Jack scoffed.

'Yes,' Jack affirmed. 'You have no idea what it's like, having to outlive everyone you know. Having to watch them die and not be able to do anything about it. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.'

New Jack watched him for a moment. Maybe it wasn't all glory. Then again, he'd never stuck around long enough to develop meaningful relationships. He didn't understand what he was missing. Saying goodbye to people didn't carry any meaning for him.

'So, you fill in your days by pretending to be a hero and becoming the person you once despised?'

'I don't know your whole history, but I can only guess it's not dissimilar to mine. Look at you, you're even dressed the same. We can't be that far apart. I did terrible things in the past which I can't forgive myself for, and which I don't expect anyone else to forgive me for. Now I try and make up for those mistakes every single day,' said Jack.

New Jack looked at him, surprised. 'That's exactly the same thing Ianto said.'

Jack smiled softly. 'Ianto's only crime is loving too much and too deeply. You and I both know what we've done was never for such as noble a cause as that.'

'And you'll watch him die one day too?'

'Sooner than I'd prefer, in all likelihood,' Jack sighed. 'He's not like me. He's prepared to sacrifice his life to protect this world, knowing that if it kills him, there's no second chances. I can die a thousand times and I'll keep coming back. My sacrifice doesn't hold the same value as his.'

'That's why he's so special to you?'

'More than you'll ever know.'

New Jack fell silent. He'd begun to see first hand just what sort of man Ianto was. And what sort of man this Jack had become. How much influence had the former had on the latter? 'Suppose we'd better get you out of there, then. If he means that much to you, he won't be happy if I come back empty handed, and I don't fancy having to face that.'

'Finally something we can agree on. So, what happens now?'

'Now I do this,' New Jack said, grabbing Jack by the collar and slamming him up against the wall. Jack's head hit the concrete wall hard and he saw stars.

'Make it look good for the camera, Jacky boy. You're about to die.'

Jack struggled against his assailant. Suddenly he wasn't sure if this was part of the plan anymore. New Jack's grip was vice like and he remembered the tactics well from his training days at the Time Agency. Tactics for which there was very little defence.

Whilst he continued his struggles, he felt a sharp pain in his side. What was that? His airways began to constrict, and his vision swam as he found it harder and harder to breathe. Still New Jack's hands were wrapped around his throat and holding his weakening body upright against the wall.

As his vision grew fuzzy he made out a whispered command in his ear. 'Pray you wake up to freedom.'

Then there was nothing.


	27. Chapter 27

New Jack made a point of alerting the guard posted outside the cell that the prisoner was dead. Immediately the guard called it in to a commanding officer, who in turn immediately reported it to Colonel Oduya. It took only minutes for the news to filter back and for Oduya to march down there in a rage, Ianto and Martha following quickly behind.

Oduya burst past the guard at the entrance to the cell and saw the ashen figure slumped on the floor, unmoving. 'What the hell happened?' Oduya ordered.

New Jack responded calmly. He didn't spare a look towards the corpse. Seeing his own image lying there dead was more than even he could stomach. 'Things got a little heated.'

'Heated? He killed three of my officers! He was to face justice for his actions.'

'And now he's dead. A punishment befitting of the crime, don't you think?'

'This is highly inappropriate, Captain.'

'Two seconds ago, you were agreeing that he was pretty much beyond redemption.'

'What gives you the right to make that decision?'

Jack turned to face him, his expression stony and fierce. 'I have every right to make that decision!' he growled. 'He's me from an alternate universe. Do you have any idea the kind of knowledge he has? Time travel, knowledge of future events and technology. Knowledge that he could use to destroy this planet, and absolutely no morals preventing him from doing so. Believe me, know one knows better than me what he's capable of. The universe is better off without him in it.'

Ianto knew New Jack was acting, but some of it seemed to hold the ring of truth in it. Had he really convinced himself that he was so bad, that no amount of good could atone for it?

New Jack didn't wait for further argument from the colonel. 'I want the body. He's Torchwood property now. Arrange for him to be ready for us to transport back to Cardiff tonight. We'll wait.'

Oduya bristled at the order. Then again, this whole sorry mess would be cleaned from his hands just as soon as Torchwood were safely back across the other side of the border in Wales. He'd blame the soldiers deaths on Torchwood. The Home Office could be left to argue with them.

Part of him was slightly pleased, and not a little unsurprised, that Jack could be so cold blooded as to kill an alternate version of himself.

Ianto spared the fallen Jack a sad look. He knew it was only temporary, but he hated it every single time. He hated that he had, in part, caused this. He hated more that he might not be there when he came back. If everything went to plan, he would be.

'C'mon,' New Jack said, sensing his despair, placing an arm on his shoulder, and leading him out.


	28. Chapter 28

New Jack and Ianto were sat on a bench in a disused hallway, waiting for the green light to collect Jack's body.

The delay was being caused by UNIT insisting on at least performing an autopsy. Apparently they felt the need to have something to append to their paperwork that would place the blame solely on Jack, should it ever come back to bite them.

Martha had duly volunteered for the task, for which Ianto was grateful. Even dead and immortal, he didn't like the idea of Jack being sliced open and investigated, or worse, trying to come back to life whilst being sliced open and investigated.

Because of the request, they'd now have to wait several hours before UNIT would clear Jack's body for transport. And Martha had to fake an autopsy, which meant taking the time to record false notes of all her procedures. Fortunately, given the late hour, no one was keen on accompanying her and observing the process. That meant she could record everything on audio without having to visually confirm anything. The cause of death would be obvious, asphyxiation by strangulation. The marks on Jack's throat, and the CCTV footage of their altercation in the cells, confirmed it without a shadow of a doubt, and no one would be running a toxicology panel with that kind of diagnosis. The remaining details would be noted on paper. Still, all of that took time. 

New Jack had already collected his remaining possessions, Jack's vortex manipulator, even more broken than his own according to Ianto, his webley, and most importantly his coat, which he was now wearing. In truth, his own coat was safely tucked away in the SUV, and Jack's vortex manipulator pocketed, along with a few other items already there.

Ianto was sat closely beside him, nervous fidgeting having finally given over to weariness as they waited. 'Are you sure this will work? He won't come back too soon will he?' He never thought he'd be wishing for Jack to stay dead longer than was strictly necessary. This time, it was critical he did. They needed to be in the SUV and on their way back to Cardiff before Jack could safely return to them.

'Trust me, that plant's sap is so deadly it'll take days to exit his system, no matter how good his regeneration is. How none of you have killed yourselves keeping something like that in your hothouse is beyond me.'

'Well, Owen was our resident botanist.' He wasn't sure what he was inferring with the comment. That Owen was very careful, or that botany was not his speciality, and that it was sheer dumb luck they hadn't poisoned themselves. Torchwood had way too many dangerous objects that were potentially lethal. Perhaps they were just lucky after all.

'Was?' New Jack queried. 

'And doctor,' he added. 'He died, and then he sort of un-died, but he was still dead, if that makes sense. Guess deadly plants can't kill a dead man. Just nuclear power plants going into meltdown,' Ianto’s voice drifted off.

'So, he was a zombie?' asked New Jack.

'Don't be ridiculous. There's no such thing as zombies. How many times do I have to tell you that?' The zombie argument had become an endless point of ire for Ianto. He stoutly refused to believe they existed, despite Jack's protestations. 

New Jack raised an eyebrow at him. 'Not Jack,' he replied.

'Right, sorry,' Ianto apologised. 'I keep forgetting.'

'So, deadly plant. Undead doctor. And now temporarily dead Jack. Sounds like everything's coming up roses.'

'Good. Well, not good, I mean, it's awful that he's dead. Owen that is. And Jack, of course. It's awful that he's dead too, but-'

'Shhh,' whispered New Jack, trying to stem Ianto's nervous wittering.

Ianto sighed. New Jack was so close to him. He smelled just like Jack and he was wearing Jack's coat. He knew it wasn't his Jack but right now he didn't care. He finally gave over to temptation and leaned his head gently against the warm wool of Jack's shoulder. When New Jack didn't make any move to shrug him off, he let his eyes gently drift closed.


	29. Chapter 29

Martha Jones had compiled all of her verbal observations during Jack's fake autopsy. She'd carefully zipped up the body bag, concealing the fact that she hadn't made a single incision on the body. Once completed, she had instructed one of the technicians to finalise the paperwork that would accompany their usual morgue reports and subsequent transfer, whilst she headed back up to her lab to finish the remaining notes required to complete the fabrication and make it look authentic.

The technician was young, and accustomed to following orders to the letter. It was unfortunate that he was even here, but that was the price you paid for being the newest, having to take the graveyard shift in an organisation that never slept. It was even less fortunate to be dealing with a corpse, since his usual duties only dealt with the deaths of microbes contained within the limits of a petri dish.

The clipboard in his hand shook only slightly as the pressure of his pen against it tested the strength of the other arm holding it upright. At first he didn't catch the subtle rustle of the body bag over the sound of his pen scratching against the paper. Then it grew more insistent. The technician looked over towards the sound, and the sight of the movement within the body bag caused him to drop the clipboard with a loud clatter to the floor. Immediately he panicked. Something was very wrong. He hadn't been working for UNIT all that long, but too many zombie movies in his teenage years had sent his mind into overdrive. He did the only thing he could think of. He hit the emergency containment alarm and ran like hell.

 

 

It was the sudden sound of alarms that jolted Ianto from his dozing state.

'What's going on?'

'I don't know, but I don't think it's good.'

It didn't take a genius to connect the dots and figure out that the timing was way too coincidental. They both began running down the hall and straight towards UNIT's morgue.


	30. Chapter 30

Jack's first reaction was panic. Admittedly, he'd grown accustomed to reassuring arms wrapped around him when he revived these days. Those arms weren't here now. 

His last memory was his attempted murder by New Jack. He still wasn't sure if he was okay. What had New Jack said? Something about freedom? Was he safe? Was this part of the plan? He couldn't be sure.

The bag itself caused him to panic as well. It wasn't the claustrophobia, he'd been here before. But now he didn't know where he was, or what was happening. He decided not to wait around and find out.

It wasn't easy to say you developed a skill at opening a body bag from the inside, but Jack had had practice. Still, in the darkness it was quite a job. The bags hadn't been designed to allow for a wide range of movement, since their occupants generally never had need of moving, so getting his arm into a position where he could find the end of the zip and force a finger through the end of the bag to get it started was tricky.

Just as he finally managed to start tugging at the zip, forcing it open, there was a sudden loud sound of something being dropped and footsteps. Not knowing what he was up for, it was a debate as to whether he kept going or froze. In the end the sound of alarms whooping made the decision for him. He thrust open the bag as quickly as he could, staggered off the metal table and ran.

 

 

'Biohazard on level fourteen', chimed the voice in between whoops of the alarm. Jack didn't stick around to find out the source of the alarm, working on the basis that he could have very well been the thing that triggered it.

If anyone found him alive, they'd know that there were two of him, and that they'd faked the switch. All of their lives would be in danger. Blood pounded in his ears as he ran and adrenaline kicked in, forcing his feet forward. Suddenly he could hear footsteps running towards him. He had no weapons, and probably no way of defending himself if he had to take on more than one or two guards. He braced himself for the oncoming assault. What he didn't expect was New Jack and Ianto to be the ones coming hurtling around the corner, nearly slamming into him.

'Jack!' Ianto cried in surprise. He looked like he wanted to say more but didn't know what.

'No time,' Jack said, cutting off his train of thought. 'We've got to get out of here.'

The three of them started running back down the corridor, searching for an alternate route out of the facility. Chances were good that there was no way of talking their way out of the situation now. UNIT weren't going to take kindly to the spread of falsehoods they'd already laid down. They just needed to get out and worry about plan B later. Jack was almost tempted to attack New Jack and leave him here to be found by UNIT. Surely if they found any version of Jack they'd be happy. They already thought they had the imposter. Who was to say he too hadn't lied about his mortality. He and Ianto could then walk out of here free men.

But something made him hesitate. The two men had so carefully crafted this plan to get him out, and he caught sight of the look that New Jack gave when he turned to check Ianto was still right behind him, a sort of worried, caring look. Jack knew then he couldn't do it. Couldn't condemn another version of himself. He wouldn't ever forgive himself, and from the looks of things, neither would Ianto. Whatever had happened, there was clearly a rapport between them now. He'd have to deal with that later, assuming they made it out of here alive and in one piece.

If the alarms had attracted the attention of everyone in the vicinity, they were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps the warning of a biohazard had kept them all away. Maybe it was the late hour. In any case, there wasn't time to ponder that particular peculiarity.

They traced their way through the labyrinthine hallways, glass walled and concrete floored, turning into one that was unusually fitted with burnished steel walls and intermittent breaks for what looked like air locks. And still no guards in sight.

Suddenly, another alarm began blaring, and the door in front of them slammed down into place, and seconds later the door behind them. They were trapped.

A metallic feminine voice rang out above their ears. The same one that had voiced the earlier alarm.

'Bio-incineration in sixty seconds...'

'Oh, that is not good,' said New Jack. He tried pressing the buttons on a nearby control panel but nothing responded to his commands. He tried shooting at the control panel wedged near the locked door but the bullet richocheted dangerously off it, causing all three of them to react and dodge the deadly bullet.

'Don't do that again!' Ianto yelled over the alarm.

Jack pounded on the door. 'Let them go! Do whatever you want to me, but let them go!'

'I think UNIT are done negotiating with us,' Ianto observed, rather more calmly than he felt.

'Bio-incineration in forty seconds...'

'What do we do?' asked Ianto.

Jack was still yelling at whoever was on the other side, presumably watching them through cameras. Still there was no response. 'You're killing an innocent man!' he protested.

'And me!' New Jack yelled. 'We can't all be immortal like you.'

Jack spun from his tirade at the door and shoved New Jack hard up against the wall. 'This is all your fault!' yelled Jack.

'Shut up, both of you!'

'Bio-incineration in twenty seconds...'

New Jack pushed himself away from the wall and Jack, and began pulling open his vortex manipulator, punching madly at the buttons and then pulling the void hopper out of his trouser pocket.

Ianto watched him, confused by the sudden actions. 'What are you doing? I thought that didn't work.'

'Plan B. I only need enough juice for one little trip.'

'I don't understand.'

'Do you trust me?'

'Don't trust him, Ianto! He's a murderer! He'll do anything to save his own skin.'

Ianto swung his gaze wildly back from one Jack to the other.

'Bio-incineration in ten, nine...'

New Jack grabbed him by his arms. 'Ianto Jones, do you trust me?'

The nodding was hesitant. His earlier certainty had faded slightly, but they'd made it this far. 'I trust you.'

'Seven, six...'

New Jack grabbed Ianto’s hand and placed it on his wrist, next to his vortex manipulator. He turned to face Jack. 'See you soon.'

Before Jack had a chance to react, the pair of them disappeared in a flash of glowing orange light.

'Three...'

Jack closed his eyes and braced for the inevitable.

'Two...'

One never came.


	31. Chapter 31

Ianto stumbled slightly as the light around them dimmed. They were no longer surrounded by the narrow, brightly lit walls of the UNIT hallway, but by the stark facade of a facility that had clearly seen battle. Even in the darkness, red flashing emergency lights showed the once white concrete walls were pockmarked with gouges, bullet holes and burns. It seemed familiar, but unfamiliar. 

He spun around and shoved New Jack hard. 'Tell me we didn't just leave Jack back there to get incinerated!'

'We didn't. I told you to trust me.'

Ianto turned away from him. Even reassured, the thought of the possibility still made him feel sick. 'Where are we?' He couldn't shake the feeling that he should know.

'Torchwood London. My universe, just a few days ago. Come on,' he said, grabbing Ianto's hand and pulling him down one of the damaged hallways, this one lit only by the sparking electrical cables from broken light fixtures hanging in tatters above their heads.

Now Ianto was beginning to get his bearings. He could remember some of the layout of the building he'd once worked in, and there being laboratories on levels fifteen through twenty one. That must be where they were now. Hadn't Jack said that a small group of Torchwood staff had made themselves a bunker to work from, isolated from the daleks and the cybermen, and holding out a resistance? Where were they? Is that where they were headed now? 

'Why are we here? I don't underst-' The rest of his sentence was cut off as Jack wrapped his hand over his mouth, silencing him, and tugging him into a darkened corner, their bodies pressed tightly together.

Just as he was about to start struggling, he caught sight of the reason Jack had grabbed him. 

Another Jack was running down the same hallway they had just been stood in. Despite the lack of light, the yellow void hopper medallion stood out prominently hanging from his neck, coat fluttering dramatically around him like it always did.

'Distract him,' came the gruff whisper in Ianto's ear before he found himself ungraciously shoved back out into the hallway.

Ianto barely had time to gather himself before his own movement had caught Jack's eye. He felt like a deer caught in the headlights. 'Uh, hi. You, uh, don't happen to know the way out of here, do you?' he asked, cringing at how lame it sounded.

Jack's eyes narrowed at him and indecisiveness between making his escape and engaging this young man, caused him to waver. Good that I can still attract his attention, no matter which version of Jack he is, Ianto thought ironically.

'And you are?' he asked slowly.

He'd been about to say "Jones, Ianto Jones," but didn't get the chance.

It was all New Jack needed to sneak up behind Jack and club him over the back of the head, causing him to crumple unconscious to the ground.

Ianto's shocked look was all he got in response. He didn't wait for Ianto to demand an explanation. 'I can't meet myself.'

'Right. Paradoxes,' replied Ianto, surprised at his own calmness at having witnessed Jack just clobber himself unconscious. Torchwood was one thing, but this was altogether different. Must this be what it's like to travel with The Doctor? he wondered. He could see why it appealed to Jack.

He suddenly wondered if there was an alternate version of himself here in this universe. Was there an alternate version of Lisa? Was she being converted whilst he was trapped down in that stupid hermetic vault? It almost didn't bear thinking about. If he did, he might well turn around and forget about New Jack altogether, making a break for the last place he remembered Lisa being. Maybe he could save this universe's version of her for his version of himself. Then he would never join Torchwood Cardiff, never meet Jack, although in this reality Jack wasn't involved with Torchwood. He quickly stopped himself. He didn't have any more right to change events here than New Jack did in his universe. He'd have to let things happen just as they were intended, whatever that might be. The turbulent thoughts lasted only a moment as a distant sound rang out which caused a chill of fear to run down his spine.

'Exterminate!'

'You need to go,' Jack ordered. He tugged the hopper from the other Jack's limp body and thrust it into his hands.

'What?' Ianto was confused.

'If he doesn't jump in the next few minutes, none of this ever happens, which means this one,' he said, holding up his own hopper, 'doesn't exist. I don't exist to give it to you, and you'll end up trapped here. You need to take his and get out.'

'But if we stopped him leaving this universe, doesn't that mean none of this happens?'

'My timeline gets re-written. We never meet. But yours? Your timeline doesn't exist here in this universe. There's nothing for it to revert to. You'll just be stuck here, forever.'

'You'll be gone!' Ianto said, suddenly realising the implications.

Jack pointed down at his unconscious earlier self. 'He is me.'

'But he's not,' Ianto protested.

New Jack took in a deep breath and let it out. He knew what Ianto meant. He’d be back to callous, self-centred Jack, trying desperately to find a way off this planet. Thinking he'd succeeded by stealing the void hopper from Torchwood, only to find it gone. Stolen by some mystery man he met just moment beforehand who'd managed to knock him out cold.

'I know. Which is why I’m leaving him this.'

Ianto stared curiously at the tiny flash drive in Jack's hand.

'You said this Doctor of yours set up a program that got rid of the daleks and the cybermen. I replicated some of the code onto this. Should be able to jury-rig this up, reopen that void and suck them all back into it.'

He wiggled the spare phone he'd picked up back at the hub, 'I even left myself detailed video instructions! Wasn't my original plan, but never hurts to have a backup. Figured I might end up back here, or at least needed to be able to send a message back to myself to fix things.' He grabbed at Jack's lapels and hauled the unconscious body across the floor, and away into a room leading off the corridor, where he was less likely to be found by any daleks on patrol.

Ianto couldn't figure out if it was a trick of the light, but New Jack seemed to dim as he looked on. 'You're fading.'

'My timeline is already beginning to alter. Once you go, that's it. It's all up to him now.'

'And what happens to me?'

'Your timeline goes back to the way it was. Before you met me. Before I came to your Earth.'

'Like nothing ever happened,' Ianto muttered.

Jack stopped and stared at him for a moment. How had this one man turned his whole world on its head? He gently took his face in his hands and kissed Ianto. 'I wish I'd never met you Ianto Jones. I was better off a coward.'

'No, you weren't.'

Jack smiled. 'Just do one thing for me okay?'

'What?'

'Just on the off chance that you do remember any of this. Those two years, the missing memories? Don't tell Jack. He's better off not knowing.'

Ianto nodded. He would keep Jack's secret. He made to leave, then stopped and turned. 'Jack? I don't know how to thank you.'

Jack smirked. 'You'll think of something. Besides, I'm the one who got you in this mess to start with! Maybe if I'm lucky I'll run into this universe's version of you some day.'

'God help him then,' Ianto quipped.

Jack grinned and saluted him, continuing to fade away until he was completely gone, leaving Ianto stood there alone, except for the unconscious Jack lying on the floor nearby. He hesitated for a few minutes, not wanting to leave Jack, knowing there were daleks and cybermen roaming about, but also knowing he couldn't stay.

Knowing he'd done all he could, with one final deep breath he activated the hopper.


	32. Chapter 32

When Jack regained consciousness, it took a moment to remember where he was. A quick look around told him he was still at Torchwood. That guy with the suit. He'd gotten the jump on him.

He patted himself down, checking for any injuries, and all his valuables, mainly his vortex manipulator. His hand came to a halt as it brushed over his chest. Where was the void hopper? He must have taken it!

Jack cursed. It wasn't until he sat up properly that the phone that had been resting on his torso clattered to the ground. When had that got there? It wasn't his. Maybe the man had left it behind, seemingly on purpose. Curiosity got the better of him. He turned it on and saw that there was a video message.

'Hey there handsome. This is your future self calling with today's horoscope reading.'

Jack had seen plenty of bizarre things when he'd been with the Time Agency, and he'd heard plenty of stories about what happened to agents who had run-ins with themselves. It never ended well. Now he had to decide if he was taking a risk in listening to the rest of the message.

Well, he did say he was your future self. Surely anything he tells you is likely to change your future and save his arse, which by extension, saves your arse. Ethical debate over. He keyed the screen and played the message.

'You may have noticed that the void hopper you pilfered is missing. I stole it. Last time you jumped it didn't exactly go to plan.'

What was that supposed to mean, he wondered.

'I ran into someone, well, ran away to be exact, but he caught me, tied me up and had his way with me. Real cute. Could've snogged him for a month of Sundays.'

And you want to change my future? Jack thought incredulously. Could it be the same man he'd just met? He'd been quite attractive. The other Jack didn't say.

'Anyway, long story short, I kinda screwed things up big time for the me in this universe. Decided to go back and change things. Now I know that you're in a really bad place, and right now you couldn't give a rats about some other version of you's problems, but I'm hoping that this will change your mind.'

Jack scowled at his own image.

'You and I have never been good at putting other people first. The Time Agency was never quite the altruistic organisation we thought we'd signed up for. Maybe it's time we started evening up the scorecard. Check your pocket.'

Jack did so and found a small object. 

'This,' Jack said, holding up an identical image of the small device, 'is capable of loading up a computer virus that will reopen the void that brought all of the daleks and cybermen here in the first place.'

That easy huh? Well, you haven't given me much of a choice, since my only way out is gone. Thanks very much for that, by they way.

'Trust me on this one. Who else is going to have your best interests at heart?'

Jack chuckled cynically. True.

'Way things are going there, Torchwood's going to need a new leader. I fancy you might be up to the task, you know, since you're stuck there and all. Might turn out okay for us.'

Gee, thanks.

'Oh, and one last thing.'

Jack groaned. What now?

'There's a guy out there somewhere called Ianto Jones. Find him and offer him a job. It'll be the best decision you'll ever make. Okay, gotta go. I'll see you around.'

Jack sat there stunned for a few moments, uncertain what to do. The only person he could trust was himself. He'd learned that the hard way. Now he had to trust those instincts. Maybe it was time for a change. He grabbed the device, pushing himself determinedly off the floor, and started running.

His destination - the top of Torchwood Tower.


	33. Chapter 33

Ianto was still sitting at his desk in the archives. The gentle flowing of his pen on the paper in front of him stopped as the scent filled his nose. He couldn't tell which came first, Jack's pheromones or the luscious smell of warm pastry. Either way the combination was heavenly.

'Sneaking up on me is useless,' he commented, not looking up from his paperwork. 'Anyway, I thought you'd be back later.' 

Jack came around and perched himself on the side of the desk. Only now did Ianto tear his eyes away from the desk to take in the handsome features of the man sat there.

'My sources came up with nada. I don't know why we bother sometimes. Still,' he said, waving the paper bag in the air, 'I have croissants, so it wasn't a completely wasted trip.'

'I'll make some coffee then, shall I?'

'Good idea, then maybe some naked hide and seek afterwards?' Jack asked hopefully. 'By all accounts it should be a quiet afternoon.'

'You're really enjoying Gwen not being here, aren't you?'

Jack leaned in close, his breath ghosting against Ianto's ear.

'Yes.'

He straightened and stood up, clearing his throat authoritatively.

'But don't tell her I said that!' he ordered.

'You're the boss.'


	34. Chapter 34

The aftermath of the battle was eerily silent, almost unnaturally so. It made sense. With all the daleks and cybermen gone, there were very few humans left that were alive. Just a handful of brave individuals who'd agreed to help him try and put a stop to it all. Most of them now lay dead, having provided him with the covering fire he'd needed to get the device in place and use it to reprogram the ghost machine, reversing it and pulling everything tainted with void radiation back into the void. Permanently.

Jack found the phone device beeping in his pocket. He'd forgotten about it entirely. There was a message. Strange, he thought, there must have been a delay transmitting it from the relay tower. With all the daleks and cybermen, he was amazed that any of the phone towers still stood. He opened the message and read it, half expecting it to be another message from himself.

"Jack, your brother Gray is still alive. Don't give up searching for him. He needs you."

Jack almost dropped the phone in shock before scrolling to confirm the senders details.

Sender: Ianto Jones.

'Whoever you are, Ianto Jones,' Jack vowed, 'I'm going to find you. And Gray.'


End file.
